


Jeon Heejin and the Start of the Universe

by firstdeadloser



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F, I don't actually ship these ships IRL! theyre just for the theories!, I think some one has wrote loonaverse theories, LOONAVERSE Universe, Wateva dont care, lol means lots of lesbians, lots of lesbians, mine are generic though, wat eva here's mine too then bitch !
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:28:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 67,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26540677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firstdeadloser/pseuds/firstdeadloser
Summary: When Jeon Heejin abandons her Colors in the unstable cosmos, the universe tips into chaos- leaving the eleven colors to try and figure out a way to restore balance to their world.
Relationships: Ha Sooyoung | Yves/Viian Wong | ViVi, Jeon Heejin/Kim Hyunjin, Park Chaewon | Go Won/Son Hyejoo | Olivia Hye
Comments: 23
Kudos: 61





	1. Chapter 1

“She can’t open her eyes.”

“She can.”

“Her head is lolling.”

“She’s a newer model. Give her some time.”

“Her hands are completely different from Vivi’s.”

“We did the best we could to try and capture the fragments of her spirit.”

“Why did it have to be… Be a machine? Couldn’t it have been a person? A vessel?”

“You asked for an exact replication of her. How can we make it exactly like her if we put her inside a totally new person?”

A gloomy light filtered through the window, illuminating the scene with gray light, shining from behind an array of blackening trees. As the light spilled through, the triple set of glowing eyes seemed to shine brighter beneath the smooth light. 

“She’s not going to wake up, is she?” Yves sighed, crouched in front of the machine, her hand supporting it’s limp head.

“Quiet.” Kim Lip demanded.

“What?” Yves whipped her head around.

“Quiet!” Kim Lip repeated. Kim Lip was the leader of the trio- the three were famous in the Garden. They were rumored to travel through the cosmos, heads dyed blonde from the starlight, and if you were lucky to the point you talked to them long enough, you could see the red glint of the moonlight in their eyes. Yves didn’t have to believe in those rumors, because she knew they weren’t rumors. Every legend about the girls was true. Yves knew it with a satisfaction, as Kim Lip’s eye was curved with a white slit, reflecting the sleeping moon. They were called “Odd Eyes”.

“Did we transfer too much power?” Choerry whispered worriedly. Her own Odd Eye was shining purple against the morning light. The Odd Eye Circle was gathered around the machine, sitting lifelessly on an equally lifeless chair. She was modeled after Yves’ lover. 

“Keep the connection.” Jinsol warned. Her hair was pale from the starlight too, much like Kim Lip’s. She spoke again, that same blue moon shimmering in her eye. “Keep the connection steady. It’ll be hard to wake her up if we can’t keep the connection steady.”  
Choerry looked concerned. Kim Lip just nodded, as though to assure what Jinsol was saying was correct. Silence fell. Yves pet away the machine’s hair, and was devastated to realize that it’s hair felt nothing like the real Vivi’s. She pulled her hand away with urgency, and felt like pulling her other hand away too to let the robot fall over. Heart aching, Yves’ eyes began to glass. She took in a deep, shaking breath, and shut her eyes. Around her, lights began to flash. The Circle’s moons were shifting, changing their states and flickering through their phases. It began slowly- blue, purple and red moving in perfect harmony. Then, it kicked up. The colors began to mix. The faster the phases went, the more the colors seemed to be in an unsettling disarray of odd colors. 

When Yves’ opened her eyes, Vivi was not what she had hoped. She was in the exact same position, but this time, she had one black eye half lidded and drooping, while the other, wide and alert, was glowing a deep purple. 

Yves’ lips parted. “The Odd Eye.” She whispered.

The Circle did not respond. They had closed their eyes, eyeballs moving rapidly beneath their eyelids as they tried to rupture their connection to the moon. 

Vivi’s purple eye, glowing and brilliant, began to follow in the footsteps of the usual Odd Eye. It went through each phase of the moon, until it was a slim crescent at the bottom of her… left eye. Only Choerry’s Odd Eye was shaped on the left, and it was due to the fact that she was never meant to be birthed in the first place. Yves began to grow nervous at the revelation, leg bouncing with anxiety. 

Vivi blinked her eye, and the moon had vanished. Just as she’d seemed to fully awaken, the Circle were slowly opening their eyes too, losing connection with the moon.

“Vivi,” Yves moved closer, taking her hands in hers. “Vivi, can you hear me?”

Vivi was silent. Her head hung in front of her, rolling and lolling. Then, Yves felt her squeeze her hands. Slowly, excruciatingly slow, Vivi lifted her head. It seemed the effect of the Odd Eye had not left, because her left eye had gone back to glowing purple. Her right eye was opened, and she stared at Yves with the same large eyes Yves had once loved. Yves, desperate to feel some sort of connection to her lover, moved even closer, to the point that she kneeled on the floor, and put her head in Vivi’s lap.

“Unnie,” She whispered, staring at the ground with wide, frightened eyes. “Can’t you remember me?”

The room felt strangely empty. The Circle was in an out of body state, and Vivi’s soul was barely intact with her. In the huge, empty room, filled with looming windows and a hanging chandelier, built for hundreds, suddenly only had one. Yves felt even more afraid. She huddled closer to Vivi’s legs, and begged to her again.

“Wake up.” Came Yves’ plea, broken and scared. “Please, wake up…”

Red, blue and yellow. 

Kim Lip, Jinsol and Hyunjin. 

On the night of the world’s birth, bright colors of pink reached and touched the moon, and gave life to the color blue. On the night of the universe’s first eclipse- the crossing of the moon over the sun-a swirling figure of bright pink touched the shadowed moon, and gave birth to the color red. Her third color, she separated. Blue and Red were to have connection to the moon- Blue and Red were meant to keep their miniature world intact. Yellow was to be Hers. She touched the stars, and their scathing touch gave life to Yellow. 

“There is a world like ours.” She advised her fellow creations. “Where they feel and communicate like us. This world is vast, but lonely. We must create more colors to fill our world.”

“What will we do in that separate world?” Blue asked Her. 

“We will create more colors.” She explained. “On that world, I believe there are more. I must see for myself. You three should stay in this universe- protect our home.”

“Where will you go?” Yellow asked in a small voice. “When will you return?”

She stroked Yellow’s cheek with a fondness. “I will return as soon as I can. Do not worry. This second world cannot compare to the world I have birthed.”

She left on the fifth night of their lives. Yellow, Blue and Red wandered the cosmos, touching and feeling, played on the shores of the moon and watched the millions of suns be worshipped by its planets.

“I have brought vessels.” She returned on the fiftieth night in a new corpse, and laid out bodies for the girls. “These were the most beautiful in my eyes. They even have… colors. Hyunjin… Kim Lip…. Jinsol.”

“Colors?” Yellow echoed. 

“They are names. Such as I call you. Yellow, Red and Blue. Wear your new vessels with grace, for this shall be yours and mine shall be mine for many eras of life to come.” She said. Then, the colors watched as the vessel grew a strange look. They didn’t know, but it was a smile. “My color is Heejin.” 

Heejin went to Earth constantly, and did not allow the colors to go. There were too many temptations, and too many opportunities for betrayal. That was one thing the colors were advised never to do- betray their creator. If they did, they would become tainted with evil. Jinsol and Kim Lip had no problem with it. They played on the moon as Hyunjin watched them with great sadness- she could not bear to be without Heejin. Hyunjin would destroy stars and lay lifelessly on the moons for years until Heejin would finally make her returns. On the eve of Heejin’s returns, Hyunjin rejoiced and rebirthed every star she had destroyed. On one of the nights of Heejin’s returns, Heejin took Hyunjin to a distant moon, where Kim Lip and Jinsol did not like to play. 

Heejin pressed her lips to Hyunjin’s that night. “It’s called a kiss.” Heejin said with a murmur, caught in Hyunjin’s limbs. “Try it with me.”

Hyunjin carefully moved her face closer, and slowly pressed her “lips” to Heejin’s. Hyunjin could feel the remains of the vessel’s former spirit kindling- there was a warm feeling. It felt like… Hyunjin had never felt much before besides devastation, so she called it a color. It felt like Heejin’s color. It felt like bright pink. The more they kissed, the stronger the color grew, and Heejin could feel it too.

“I want more colors.” Heejin whispered against Hyunjin’s lips. “I want a beautiful world.”

“Our colors are enough.” Hyunjin cupped Heejin’s face. “I’m too lonely. I don’t want you to go anymore.”

“You have Red and Blue.” Heejin frowned.

Hyunjin shook her head. “They are not pink, like you are. I yearn for your color only.”

“My color will always be yours.” Heejin swore, and they kissed again beneath the cosmos. 

Years after their brief reunion, and after Hyunjin had grown devastated to the point that she was destroying the galaxy, Heejin returned and stayed with her another night. She showed her more things she had learned- how the vessels connected _physically_ , how people “dated”, how people ate food, and most importantly, a way for Hyunjin and Heejin to keep in touch. Heejin wrote in symbols on something called paper. The paper was a pale color, the symbols were a strange, dark color, and the thing Heejin was writing with was the color blue. Hyunjin thought the colors were an odd arrangement, but beautiful nonetheless. 

Heejin stayed for a week on her moon with Hyunjin, kissing and connecting “physically”, like Heejin had explained, rolling around when they were done and laying together as Heejin taught Hyunjin to write. They separated after that week, and Hyunjin was incredibly lonely for a while, but the letters kept her company. She wrote them and asked Kim Lip to send them, and Kim Lip would send the letter along with the pull of the moon to wash up on the shores of earth.

“It has the pull of the moon,” Kim Lip explained to Hyunjin as they watched from the heavens as the letter fluttered into the oceans of Earth. “Heejin will immediately feel connected to it. She’ll find the letter.”

“Can I not go to Earth?” Hyunjin asked Jinsol and Kim Lip longingly one night as they lay amongst the stars.

“Your longing will repay you when you reunite with Heejin again. But betrayal will never provide anything good.” Jinsol advised.

“I miss Heejin. Wouldn’t she miss me too? Would she forgive me if I go to see her?” Hyunjin rambled on.

“She does miss you.” Kim Lip assured her. “But it’s necessary we wait. She is doing what she can to help protect our universe.”

“She just wants more colors….” Hyunjin muttered, growing a bitter jealousy. It did not last for long- Jinsol slapped her on the shoulder, and the jealousy was replaced with pain.

“Ow!” Hyunjin reacted. “What was that?!”

“Our vessels feel something called _pain_.” Jinsol gave Hyunjin a teasing grin. “Heejin says it feels worse on earth. We just feel it a tiny bit.”

“Earth must be terrible if it has things like pain and gender.” Hyunjin rolled her eyes.

“Gender… I still can not comprehend it.” Kim Lip frowned. “What is it? Woman? M-...M-...Map? Min?”

“Men?” Jinsol suggested.

“Yes! Woman and man!” Kim Lip grinned, but her happiness was washed away. “How strange those creatures are. They live in lives of confinement. Do they not realize they are not free?”

“Heejin says they believe they are liberated.” Jinsol nodded. “But they have strange ideals of t-...territory and m-...What is it? Money?”

“They are not free.” Hyunjin pouted. “Why is Heejin so fascinated with Earth? I wish she were fascinated with us. Then she wouldn’t leave so much.”

“You wish she were fascinated with _you._ ” Kim Lip corrected. Hyunjin tried what Jinsol had done, and hit Kim Lip on the head. Jinsol burst into laughter, and the other girls, bewildered, copied the noise. It felt good. It felt like a burst of bright colors. Eventually, the awkward noise grew into real laughter, and the colors laughed for a long time to come. Perhaps, Hyunjin thinks as she recalls that time, had it just been the primary colors living in the cosmos together with Heejin for all eternity, nothing bad would have ever happened. 

One night, Heejin returned to the cosmos. Hyunjin begged to be with her despite her insistance of having to announce something important, and Heejin finally gave in. She took her to their moon and there the two kissed and spoke and loved for many days.

“We should make our own color.” Hyunjin whispered to her.

Heejin looked to her, then sighed. “That’s what I was going to ask you. I want you to combine your colors. You and Jinsol… I want you to make green.”

“Green?” Hyunjin echoed, propping onto her elbow. “What does it look like?”

“It’s strong and vibrant. It’s… It’s deep like blue, but it stands out like yellow.” Heejin explained with wonder in her eyes. “I have seen it on Earth. Life there is bountiful. The grass, the plants, the trees… They are all green. I want there to be more. I want our new color to spread her color further around the Earth.”

“You don’t want Green to stay here?” Hyunjin frowned. “You want her on earth?”

“It’s where she must be.” Heejin nodded deeply. “I’ve grown fond… Fond of Earth. I want to help it. There are enough colors in our universe. We should send out more colors, to help other worlds in need, like Earth.”

Hyunjin was silent for a long time. That night, she began to understand that Heejin was gone so often and wrote such empty letters because she had fallen in love with another. Earth. She had fallen in love with the plentiful colors, the enslaved creatures, the beasts and wonders of Earth. She no longer needed Hyunjin to be satisfied.

“We should go. We must tell Jinsol. We should birth this color as soon as possible.” Hyunjin sat up. For some reason, she grew shy of her permanently bare body. She did not want Heejin to see. She held herself as she got up.

“Hyunjin,” Heejin called as Hyunjin walked away. “Hyunjin, you know I can’t take you with me.”

“I said nothing about accompanying you.” Hyunjin muttered. Something was building in the chest of her vessel. It felt similar to the devastation she’d feel when Heejin was away for too long, but worse. It felt like… what the stars would feel when Hyunjin wrecked them.

“Hyunjin!” Heejin said firmly. “Hyunjin- You- You want to make green?”

Hyunjin stopped. She looked over her shoulder, but her vision was hazy. Her vessel’s eyes seemed to be leaking. “Of course I want to.” She said, her voice trembling. “Anything to please you.”

“You… You don’t even want me to help you?” Heejin asked slowly.

“I know how we must make colors in this vessel.” Hyunjin muttered. “We should go back.”

Jinsol and Kim Lip reacted happily to the news, excited to have a new color in their universe.

“Will she be able to visit the cosmos?” Kim Lip asked.

“Yes, when her time comes.” Heejin nodded. “She first must carry out her mission on Earth.”

“I yearn to see the Earth.” Jinsol sighed wistfully, big eyes reflecting the moon. “Will we ever be able to go, Heejin?”

“No.” Heejin said strictly. “You must never. Though I am fond of the world, I cannot bare for my own colors to be tainted with evil. The Devil lies within temptation.”

“When should we birth this color?” Jinsol asked Hyunjin, uninterested in Heejin’s overused spewl about temptation and evil. 

“As soon as possible.” Hyunjin said, expressionless. Jinsol looked at her suspiciously, but said nothing. 

Jinsol and Hyunjin walked among the stars, and beneath the brightest one, Jinsol took Hyunjin into a gentle kiss. Their bodies molded together as the lips of their vessels worked with beauty, motions melding the colors together to create the fated ‘Green’. Hyunjin tried her hardest not to pull away from Jinsol- though she knew colors must be birthed in this way, she still felt as though she were betraying Heejin, the one she reserved her kisses for. Hyunjin’s clouded mind during Green’s creation must have lead to the painful curiosity and struggle of the future Green color. Once they pulled away, their bodies were full of blue and yellow hand prints, and their lips which had moved so delicately against each other, were dripping with green. They looked up to the space filled with blue, red, yellow and a vivid pink. In the sky, green was birthed between the colors of yellow and blue. Jinsol reached her hand up, and touched the color. 

“Will the moon bring it life?” Hyunjin asked Jinsol, her waist being held by the color blue.

“Here she is.” Jinsol said softly, and in her hand, she held the very soul of the color green. Hyunjin moved closer to Jinsol, and the two of them watched as the essence glowed and shimmered beneath the brilliant colors of their world. 

“What is this world?” Asked Green.

“We are in the Moon’s universe.” Jinsol replied.

“Are you my creator?” Green asked.

“Yes.” Hyunjin said quietly.

“But also no.” Jinsol added. “There is a color that gave life to us all. We only used the essences of our colors to make you. In a way, we are your creators. But in a different way, we are not.”

“I see.” Green said, and grew silent. “What are your colors?”

“I am Yellow, she is Blue. We are the primary colors, along with Red.” Hyunjin explained to the newly born. “We have human vessels. Heejin, the color of all colors, went to Earth to bring us these.”

“Heejin is the original creator?” Green looked for confirmation.

“Yes.” Jinsol laughed. “You have many questions. Is green the color of curiosity?”

“Green is like safety.”

Hyunjin and Jinsol turned around, and saw Heejin. The two were not quite yet ready to separate, so they turned their bodies and presented Green to her.

“Are you Heejin?” Green asked.

“Yes.” Heejin smiled. “They’ve filled you in on everything?”

“Filled me in?” Green echoed.  
“Informed you of the ways of this universe.” Heejin corrected herself.

“They have.” Green confirmed. “What is the purpose of my color?”

“Well, Green, it is closely related to safety in the world I frequent. It’s also connected to growth, and life.” 

“There are other worlds?”

“Many others. I have only been able to visit one.” Heejin said to the color. “Your color has a purpose, like I was saying. It’s meaning contributes to your purpose. I want you to go to Earth, and spread your color. Safety, life and growth. The Earth is in desperation of it.”

“Earth?” Green echoed slowly.

“She can’t go yet!” Jinsol argued defensively. “Let her stay for a decade! She will grow with us, learn from you and understand the way humans behave. What happens if she goes to Earth and comes back injured? And if she is tainted? She knows nothing of life, death and universes!”

“I agree.” Hyunjin said quietly. “She is not ready to go.”

“So you all think it’s fine to defy me now?” Heejin narrowed her eyes. “Green must go. This is an order from her Creator. The opinions of primary colors do not matter.”

“Many emotions the primary colors feel do not matter to you.” Hyunjin mumbled beneath her breath. 

“Do you yearn to go to Earth?” Jinsol asked Green.

“I do not.” The color replied. “I wish to stay. There is much to learn. I yearn to be beside my creators.”

“I am your creator!” Heejin snapped. “Fine! You’ve made me resort to this!”

“Heejin, stop this!” Hyunjin demanded, finally growing angry too. “What is this truly about? Why are you so desperate to go help the Earth all of a sudden? You were not in such urgency when we spoke of Green earlier!”

“Just give me the color!” Heejin shouted. Unfortunately for Jinsol and Green, Heejin and Hyunjin were not truly fighting over Green. They were fighting with each other, but using Green as an excuse to put their emotions into words and a valid argument. Jinsol just had the misfortune of being present for the fight, and Green just happened to be birthed in the middle of a fight between celestial beings. 

Heejin tore away the color despite Jinsol and Hyunjin’s protests, and held her in her fist. 

“What will you do with her?!” Jinsol wailed.

“I will put her in a human vessel, and destroy her memories.” Heejin growled. “Do not try and stop me. Trying will… Will result in betrayal. You will be tainted with evil.”

Jinsol and Hyunjin immediately fell to silence. Despite feeling torn, they did not want to be tainted with the evil Heejin had so feverently warned them of. Heejin looked between Jinsol and Hyunjin with a firey emotion, and whirled away. She walked far ahead of them before stopping. She looked over her shoulder, and though she didn’t met either of Jinsol or Hyunjin’s eyes, the message was made clear.

“Do not… Send me letters.” Heejin muttered. She vanished, and Hyunjin collapsed into Jinsol’s arms. The two beings sat beneath the brightest star and wept for years to come.

Ten years had passed, and Hyunjin and Jinsol finished their weeping. For eight years, Hyunjin relentlessly wrote letters to Heejin, waiting anxiously for a reply as Jinsol watched the Earth from the moon, trying to connect to it’s power and discover where Heejin and Green were. Within those eight years, not only did Hyunjin miss Green, but she yearned for Heejin. She missed her touch and kiss, missed her brilliant light and missed her vibrant color. She wanted to see her again. On the ninth year, Kim Lip was accompanying Jinsol on the moon, trying to help her look. Their connections to the moon were impeccably strong, since they were creations of the moon as well as Heejin’s. Hyunjin did not doubt they would find their powers lying within their mother satellite’s pull. Knowing that Kim Lip and Jinsol would spend much time with the moon, Hyunjin snuck away.

She was leaving the cosmos, knowing she was committing the ultimate betrayal, but she just couldn’t wait any longer.


	2. Chapter 2

Nineteen year old Jo Haseul had loving parents, had great grades and lived in a good home. But all her life, she’d felt a strange pull. As a kid, she’d sneak onto the roof of her house and sit on the tiles, gazing up at the stars. She watched in frustration as the stars twinkled at her, angry because she felt that the heavens were trying to talk to her. She’d stare at the moon at times, trying to find answers, but what she felt instead was an odd pull. Haseul, as a result, declared herself a “morning person.” She slept as early as she possibly could, and excused it as wanting to wake up early to study. Korean school was hell, after all, so her parents came to understand it. 

But as Haseul grew older, she grew… To be confused. There was always the passing conversation between classmates or friends about the meaning of life, and what they were put on Earth for. But for some reason, Haseul felt she was not as clueless as her friends were. When they spoke of meanings and purpose, Haseul would stay up late and stare at the moon, feeling the same pull she’d felt every year of her life. And every year, she felt more and more confused. It came to the point where she could not focus on her studies properly, and her grades were slipping. She was too distraught, too overcome with that irresistible, infuriating pull. Her parents were devastated- they thought her daughter had developed depression, or some sort of mental illness- Haseul could hear them talk with anxiety late into the night as she lay wide awake on her bed.

They sent her to therapy, and told her to keep it quiet from their family and friends. Haseul did as told- and she answered all of the therapist’s questions and returned for many more sessions, but the therapist couldn’t quite declare an illness. He declared it an identity crisis, and Haseul believed that could be the case. She didn’t know her purpose on the Earth, so obviously she didn’t know her own identity. But she knew that couldn’t be true. Nobody on earth knew their purpose, but everybody still knew themselves, at least. Haseul, for the most part, had no idea who she was. She wasn’t sure the name her mother had given her was even her own. Her friends, officially weirded out by the new Haseul, who had once been so happy and preppy but was bleak and lifeless now, avoided her. They lost contact with her after the entrance exams. Her family who were sick with worry couldn’t bear to speak with her without bursting into emotional fits, so they too had grown estranged from Haseul.

On the night of her twentieth birthday, Haseul stayed up. She climbed to the roof of her house, and sat on the tiles. She was much bigger now- she was all grown up. No longer a child frustrated at things she couldn’t understand. But tonight, she felt like a child again. She felt as though she’d reverted to ten years ago, and was still frustrated at the stars for not being able to properly relay their message.

Haseul sighed. She gathered her knees to her chest, and ducked her head into them. Once again, it was a lonely night.

“Green?”

The voice that had called out was so familiar that Haseul almost fell off the roof. Heart racing, she stumbled back, and looked up to see who was there. Beneath the shimmering moonlight, two massive eyes on a round face were staring down at Haseul. A cat wound around her feet, and rubbed against her leg. 

“Who-Who are you?!” Haseul stuttered, chest heaving. The more she stared at this person, the more she felt connected to her. And… beyond that, Haseul couldn’t stop seeing yellow whenever she looked at her. It seemed the color was glowing beneath her skin, like a blanket over light. 

“I am Yellow.” She replied. “I’m Hyunjin. Do you remember me? The day of your creation, the color Blue and I held you. We spoke to you.”

“What? The color blue?” Haseul stuttered, acting like the lady was crazy. But not so deep within her, Haseul knew the story was so _familiar_. Was Blue a codeword for something? Was Yellow a code word for something? Why had…. Why had Hyunjin called her Green? Didn’t blue and yellow make green? 

“Are you my mother?” Haseul asked in bewilderment.

“No. I am simply your creator. Blue and I created you by connecting the essences of our colors.” Hyunjin explained. “We are not truly related. We do not have the same limitations of relationships that humans have. But on the day of your birth, the creator of all colors took you away from us. We wanted to let you grow alongside us, and with Red in the cosmos, for some time before you could go to Earth. But Heejin, our creator… Well, I fought with her, and she took you away. I… Since you do not remember your life, I suppose she wiped your memory.”

“I don’t understand.” Haseul said helplessly. “Is this some sort of code? Is- Are you talking in a secret language? Why can’t I understand you?”

“I’ve been looking for you.” Hyunjin smiled a bit, and crouched down. Haseul scrambled backwards, but Hyunjin reached out her hand anyways and pet Haseul’s hair. “Your vessel is beautiful. Jinsol misses you. She is still searching for you on the moon.”

“The moon?” Haseul’s voice cracked. She glanced up at the moon. “Is that why I-...”

“Have you been feeling pulls from the moon?” Hyunjin’s massive eyes lit up. “That is beautiful! Jinsol will be happy to know you’ve been feeling her!”

“Feeling her? The moon is a person?” Haseul felt like crying. “What do you mean by cosmos? Is that like, codeword for a different country? Am I from Iceland? What are all these colors? Who is Jinsol? Why are you glowing?!”

“You are from the Loonaverse. These colors make up the entirety of our world. Jinsol is the color Blue. I am glowing because you recognize me as Yellow.” Hyunjin answered every question impeccably, making it sound as though it were the easiest thing in the world to understand. “Jinsol and I were devastated. We cried for ten years and searched for you another eight. I ran away… from the cosmos on the nineteenth year. I missed Heejin, so I had to come.”

“Heejin? Who is Heejin?” Haseul didn’t even know what she was asking anymore. It was pointless to keep talking to this lady. She was probably a meth head, and didn’t know what she was talking about. Colors? Loonaverse? Cosmos?!

“The creator of all colors.” Hyunjin recited, and there was a sad look in her eyes. “But I cannot see her. I’ve been tainted by evil after my betrayal. I… Jinsol sent me a secret letter many months ago telling me of what happened since my departure. I can no longer find her again.”

Haseul stared up at Hyunjin. Though she was terrified, the curiosity within her that she had contained for so many years was building up. She had to ask her. “Do you know my purpose on this Earth?”

Hyunjin blinked at Haseul. “I do. I was there when Heejin declared it.”

“Can you tell me?” Haseul asked eagerly, moving closer to Hyunjin. “I- You’re crazy as hell, lady, but everything you’re saying- it’s just so familiar! I- Do you know something? Do you know something about… my purpose? I’ve been wondering for years- all the pulls from the moon and the stars, they freaking freaked me out! I-... Can I know?”

“There is already imbalance within the Loonaverse. If I go against Heejin’s wish and tell you the truth about your purpose, chaos could ensue.” Hyunjin sighed, looking up to her “cosmos”. “Since my betrayal, the universe has tipped in the scale. I am meant to be with the colors, since I am primary. I do not mind telling you the truth, for I love you and I couldn’t lie to you. You must know that if I do, the scale will tip to an even greater extent, and real chaos will ensue. But if you desire peace, I will sew my mouth and my vessel will never speak again.”

“So if you tell me the truth… Chaos ensues?” Haseul recapped Hyunjin’s words. “And if I deny it… There will be peace?”

“Yes. Like that.” Hyunjin confirmed.

Haseul, despite thinking Hyunjin was off her rocker, somehow felt that her decision would be the wrong one. She looked up to Hyunjin with rounded eyes. “I want… The truth.” 

Just months after Hyunjin’s departure, Heejin returned to the cosmos.

“Where is Hyunjin?” Heejin asked as Kim Lip and Jinsol arrived to greet her. “I have great news! I’ve managed to recreate the earth by using our colors! I’ve made it for the primary colors to reside in while I’m in the earth. That way, you can experience it too!”  
“That is great!” Jinsol said enthusiastically, then immediately shifted topics. “Hyunjin is gone. She ran off to find you.”

“What?” Heejin’s smile fell.

“Well, she kept trying to send you letters, but you either refused to respond or didn’t get them. She sent you one every day trying to find you and Green.” Jinsol explained wryly. 

“But- But I did get them!” Heejin grew panicked. She searched the pockets of her vessel’s clothes, and pulled out the hundreds of crumpled pieces of papers. All Hyunjin’s. “Here! Here they are! They- She- She missed me? But I was- I was reading them!”

“You never responded.” Jinsol pointed out. 

“Where is she?” Heejin’s voice was weak, looking helplessly to her colors. Jinsol and Kim Lip exchanged glances- the pair felt bad for their creator. They too loved Hyunjin, but not in the same way Heejin loved her.

“She’s on Earth.” Kim Lip said coolly. “She betrayed you, Heejin.”

“But…” Heejin’s letters fell to the ground. “I-... But… She cannot come back! She’s- She’s tainted with evil- if she comes back, she’ll-..!”

“Taint the cosmos with the darkest color.” Jinsol recited Heejin’s famous line. 

“Heejin…” Kim Lip wanted to comfort her creator and friend, but Heejin was busy breaking down. The thought of not having Hyunjin always there, always waiting for her was too much. Association with Hyunjin would be evil as well, so Heejin had no way out of the hole she had accidentally dug herself into.

“Go… Go to the Middle Earth…” Heejin stumbled away from them, her vessel trembling with ferocity. “Go…”

“Heejin, we can wait for you.” Jinsol assured her.

“Go to the Middle Earth!” Heejin screamed. Then, in her fit, she tore what remained of the yellow colors down from the sky and gave it to Kim Lip. “Make- Make orange! Make orange, and force her to find- Send her to Earth, so she can look after Green and Hyunjin! Do it, and get out of my sight!”

“I can’t make colors without a primary!” Kim Lip exclaimed. “If I make a color with only Hyunjin’s remains, it’ll be pointless! She’ll- She’ll rely more on her vessel’s brain than her own being!”  
“Get out!” Heejin demanded, and threw her hand back, sending a fierce gush of wind with it. Jinsol and Kim Lip were knocked back. Unable to protest against their creator, Jinsol helped Kim Lip up, and the two set off for the Middle Earth.

What neither the Primaries or the creator knew was that Heejin’s deep feelings had split into two- she had a shadow now.

Chaos, as Hyunjin had promised Haseul, was ensuing.

After throwing her tantrum and wrecking galaxies, Heejin knew she still had a duty to her universe. In the midst of the cosmos, Heejin used her own color to give birth to an angel to watch over her universe and bring back peace and harmony. She picked out the purest, most beautiful vessel, and gave life to a gorgeous pink color under the pale light of the moon. 

“What beautiful colors.” Said the light pink as she was born.

Heejin broke a smile for once in many months. “Yes. They are quite beautiful.”

The sky was drained of yellow. Heejin didn’t think it was so beautiful.

“I have left your vessel in a far field within a world called the Middle Earth.” Heejin explained. “I cannot… Bare to watch my universe suffer with the chaos of imbalance. I must return to my place on Earth.”

“Will you be okay?” Light Pink asked her. 

“I will be fine. Once you arrive in the Middle Earth, Jinsol and Kim Lip will greet you. Jinsol is blue, and Kim Lip is red. But you must enter your vessel as soon as they greet you, for that world is not suitable for colors to live in.” Heejin said to her, ignoring her question. “I have left in your memories my guidance for the restoration of balance. Tell this to Jinsol and Kim Lip upon your arrival. But the Middle Earth is only for Primary colors to watch over our universe, so I have created a separate dimension for you. It is called Eden. Once you enter your vessels and stay four nights and five days with Jinsol and Kim Lip on the Middle Earth, you will go to the Garden of Eden. Be safe. Watch over my colors in my absence.”

“I will.” Light Pink asked no questions. As Light Pink left, Heejin sat for many hours, pondering. Then, on a whim, she decided to create another angel using her own color again. She gave life to it, and in her exhaustion, could not give her proper instruction. She ordered this color to go to Eden, and left Pink stranded and alone as she crawled away, leaving to hide in the safety of her Earth.

The Middle Earth was beautiful. It had light blue skies, beautiful plants, streets of dirt and huge fields with fun-looking contraptions. There was a house, comfortable though grand, sitting in the middle of the tall, grassy fields. Light Pink made their way towards it, and as she approached, the door to the beautiful house opened. Kim Lip and Jinsol stepped out, both beautiful and glowing with their respective colors, landed their gazes on the newly birthed colors.

“So it’s you!” Jinsol said happily, running down the porch steps. “Heejin did not tell us about your creation! I visited the moon one night, and saw Heejin beneath the moonlight, so I assumed she was creating life again.”

“It’s good to know she’s back to her old self.” Kim Lip said assuredly. “We’ve retrieved your vessel already. It’s sitting on the rocking chair.”

Kim Lip gestured to the dead body, limp on the porch’s rocking chair. Light Pink entered her vessel, and her vessel grew colored with life once more. 

“Heejin has gone.” Light Pink said sadly. “She said she could not bare to watch her world fall into chaos. She has left instructions within my memories.”

“Has she now?” Kim Lip hummed. She and Jinsol had long since expected that Heejin would need to hide away for a long while, and were not fazed by Light Pink’s information.

“She has instructed that in order to create balance within the Loonaverse, you must combine and make purple.” Light Pink explained. “This will create balance within the world again. Once she has been created, Heejin says that to erase the evil within Yellow, Orange and Green, they must be reborn.”

“Reborn?” Jinsol’s eyes widened. “For rebirth, we practically have to use all of the moon’s force to combine the fragments of their souls now to join with their new souls! It’s impossible!”

“We must do it if we want to be together again.” Kim Lip murmured in determination. “We can learn. And since we will create Purple, she will have our direct connection with the moon.”

“Why don’t we give birth to her on the moon? Heejin created me in that way.” Jinsol suggested. 

“Moon birth is dangerous. The power of the moon could be too much and tear her essence away. Why don’t we birth her on the night of the full moon?” Kim Lip suggested instead. “We can travel to the cosmos and bring her life on that night. Beneath the moonlight.”

“Yes, as close to the moon as possible.” Jinsol agreed. Then, she realized Light Pink was still standing, awaiting her turn to speak again. “Ah. Are there any more instructions?”

“Once peace and harmony is restored, we can all be together on the Middle Earth and work to help the galaxies around us.” Light Pink recited word for word. “Oh! And my name is Vivi!”

Throughout the five days Vivi was to stay with Jinsol and Kim Lip, she had grown quite close to them. They told her stories about how things were at the beginning of time, and told her about the color Yellow. 

“Hyunjin,” Kim Lip said, and her eyes were misty. “She was so gorgeous. Her color was impeccably perfect. It’s just a shame we can never see... it again.”

“See _her_ again.” Jinsol filled in what Kim Lip had trouble saying. 

“Why can’t we visit her?” Vivi asked, still innocent to the ways of the Moon’s universe. 

“Hyunjin committed the ultimate evil by betraying Heejin’s command. All colors are banned from going to Earth,” Jinsol explained. “Her color mixed with the color of evil. If we want to keep the universe in check, we can’t let anything taint us.”

“Universe in check?” Vivi echoed. 

Like that, Vivi learned much during her stay with Jinsol and Kim Lip. Vivi grew fond of Middle Earth- the plane of existence was filled with tall grass of a faded green color, the theme park was magically fun, thanks to things like roller coasters and Ferris wheels (Kim Lip said Heejin were fond of things like these on Earth), and Kim Lip and Jinsol’s place of residence stranded within the grassy fields was beautiful to Vivi. The place- a “house”- was two stories high, made of a material called wood. Inside, there were human appliances. An entire section was dedicated solely to the process to make and store things that humans eventually broke down into energy- “food”-, while other sections were dedicated to leisure and comfort. Vivi liked the soft couches and liked the feel of rugs beneath her feet. The fireplace, always lit, was meant to keep humans warm. Upstairs was even more magical to Vivi- sections that were dedicated to each person in the house, and shut them out effectively from other house members to provide them privacy. 

“There was nothing like privacy at the start,” Jinsol had explained to Vivi. “We didn’t even wear things to cover our vessels. We were always together, and could always see each other. But privacy is pretty nice, to be honest.”

The beds were soft to the touch, and every night, Kim Lip and Jinsol liked to engage in “sleeping”. Basically, it was when your line of vision shut down and so did most functions in your brain. The Colors themselves had no ability to sleep, but their vessels enjoyed it. “Our vessels were not beautiful before we started to eat and sleep. It seems it truly is necessary.” Kim Lip remarked. 

Vivi was to sleep in the third room, which Heejin had built for a future color- “Choerry,” Jinsol said, and there was a sad twinkle in her eyes. Kim Lip had given her a kiss of reassurance, and Vivi could only wonder why Jinsol looked so upset about the future color.

On the third night, she went to Jinsol’s room with the intention to ask about it.

“Jinsol?” Vivi asked quietly. “Are you awake?”

“Yes.” Jinsol sat up in bed, huge eyes glinting in the night time. Moon light shone through her bedroom window, highlighting Jinsol’s body.

“Can I ask you something?” Vivi asked, shutting the door quietly behind her.

“Sure.” Jinsol said, then chuckled. “There was a color who asked questions like you.”

“There were more colors?” Vivi asked in surprise, but shook her head. “Jinsol… Who is Choerry?”

“Choerry? She’s Purple, remember? You relayed the instructions.” Jinsol reminded her as she sat on the foot of Jinsol’s bed.

“Oh! I remember!” Vivi nodded. “Well… You looked sort of sad when you were talking about her yesterday. I… I’ve only seen sadness in Heejin, on the day of my creation.”

“You really wanna know?” Jinsol laughed. “Well, I guess you should know. Hyunjin, she’s Yellow, remember? And she went down to Earth because she wanted to be with Heejin. But before she left, she and I combined our essences to make Green. I… Heejin took her away from us right at her birth. We spent ten years weeping, and nine years searching for her in the cosmos. Hyunjin had gone nineteen years without seeing Heejin or Green, so it makes sense that she had to run away to try and go to them. I don’t blame her at all. And, beyond that, Kim Lip made Orange with Hyunjin’s fading essence. In the cosmos, it’s made up of all our colors, and so Kim Lip touched the sky that had Yellow’s remains and gave birth to Orange with it. Kim Lip-...”

“Kim Lip…?” Vivi continued.

“Nothing. Heejin sent her to Earth to watch over Green and Hyunjin, but we worry that she will become too human. If you create a color with only fragments of an essence, it’s pointless.” Jinsol went on. “I wish I could see them. I wish I could’ve spent more time with Green…”

“I’m sure Hyunjin has found her.” Vivi said, nodding her head in a way that was adorable to Jinsol. “They’re probably safe, right?”

“It’s something I can only desire.” Jinsol sighed deeply. “Is that all? Anymore nosy questions?”

“No, no more.” Vivi said shyly, and Jinsol laughed at her. 

On the fourth day, Jinsol and Kim Lip played with Vivi in the field, and at night, Kim Lip and Jinsol took Vivi to the theme park.

“Are we here to play on the roller coaster?” Vivi asked with excitement. They had played at the theme park just two days ago, but Vivi had enjoyed it so much that she didn’t mind if they could play every day until she left. 

“There’s one final thing we must show you.” Kim Lip said seriously. The primary colors stood beneath the foot of the ferris wheel, and turned to Vivi. Vivi watched them with a small smile, trying not to look confused with the stony looks on Kim Lip and Jinsol’s faces.

“Our powers have been growing stronger.” Kim Lip began to speak. “We think it’s due to… you. The more colors in our universe, the more the moon’s power grows. Ever since your creation, there’s been something strange happening.”

Kim Lip and Jinsol blinked, and slits appeared on the bottoms of their left irises. Their eyes remained that usual brown, but the slits shone with their colors- two moons, blue and red respectively, were staring back at Vivi.

“Balance is being restored.” Jinsol grinned. “We’ve been able to go to the cosmos more frequently. And our physical abilities in these vessels heighten by the day. You… Have to keep that balance once you go to Eden. No matter what the cost. You understand?”

Vivi did not understand. But Jinsol and Kim Lip were staring at her with such expectance, and a desire in their eyes, that Vivi could not tell them the truth.

“I understand.” Vivi said, and gave them her usually sweet smile. “I’ll do it.”

On the fifth day, Jinsol and Kim Lip let Vivi decide what they’d be doing, so they spent all morning going on rides and playing at the theme park, all afternoon playing in the field and jumping in the creek, and Vivi wanted to spend the evening back at the cabin house. As night fell, Jinsol and Kim Lip accompanied Vivi to the edge of the Middle Earth.

“Will you be alright on Eden?” Kim Lip sighed, pushing Vivi’s hair away from her face.  
“Mhm.” Vivi nodded enthusiastically. “Maybe Eden’s like Middle Earth!”

Jinsol and Kim Lip smiled fondly at her. “You won’t be lonely?” Jinsol asked, her voice gentle.

“No. Just visit me when you can.” Vivi said to them.

“We’ll try.” Kim Lip promised. “Our powers are at their heights right now. It’d be wrong to leave the Middle Earth any time soon. The Moon’s pull begins to fade… In maybe fifty nights?”

“We will meet you on the fiftieth night.” Jinsol promised, and took Vivi’s hand in hers. 

“How long will you spend there?” Vivi asked, eyes rounded.

“As long as you’d like.” Jinsol grinned as Kim Lip pet Vivi’s head. “Now go. Didn’t you say Heejin would send you to a castle? There’ll be lots of things like beds, and food and fields, so go and don’t long for us too much.”

“We’ll see you again.” Kim Lip added gently, and the three colors hugged each other goodbye.

Vivi stepped away from them and tried not to look for long. Her vessel’s eyes were beginning to leak. “Bye!” She said to them quickly, and ran off into the portal Heejin had left for Vivi’s departure. Kim Lip and Jinsol stood behind, feeling alone as the portal with swirling colors of pink, blue, red, orange and green closed until there was nothing but sparkles of colors.


	3. Chapter 3

On Earth, not too long ago, Orange had been brought to Earth and inserted into a vessel. A fourteen year old vessel, with a babyish but pretty face, and a heart of gold. But, as Kim Lip had promised Heejin those days ago, Orange would not be able to live without the conscience of her vessel interrupting. 

The fourteen year old vessel woke up in the middle of the road, and realized her name was Im Yeojin, and that she had no memories of what had just happened to her. She grit her teeth as her stomach growled, and she opened her eyes. Above her, a woman with huge eyes was staring down at her.

“Ack!” Yeojin shrieked, jumping back. “I- Get away! Who- who are you?”

Another head hovered over Yeojin, but this woman had slit eyes and a sharp face. “This is the orange you kept talking about?”

“The moon’s pull was powerful. You felt it too, didn’t you?” The wide eyed woman said. “It’s her. She’s another color.”

“Her glow is really dim.” The slit eyed woman murmured.

“What are you guys talking about?! I- Green? Orange?! Glow?” Yeojin wailed. “Go away! Get away from me! I- Help! Help!”

Realization dawned on the big eyed woman’s face. “No…” She breathed, covering her mouth. “This can’t be true…”

“What?” The woman with narrow eyes asked urgently. “What’s wrong?!”

“To make orange, you need red and yellow.” The wide eyed woman seemed aghast. “They used the remains of my color to make her!”

“What does that mean?!” 

“It means she’s not her own being! She’s connected to her vessel!”

“I’m getting out of here.” Yeojin scrambled to her feet. “You bitches are crazy! I’m going back to my mom!”

“See!” Wide eyes cried. “She remembers her mother!”

“I remember mine too!” Narrow eyes argued. 

“You grew up with your mother!” Wide eyes snapped. Just as Yeojin was about to run away, the two women turned their gazes onto Yeojin.

“Why can’t I just leave?!” Yeojin wailed. “Is this some kind of cult meeting? Some weird practices?! Is it- Is it a human trafficking?!”

“Do you know what human trafficking is?” Narrow eyes frowned.

“What is human trafficking?” Wide eyes asked, looking genuinely confused. “Never mind. My name is Hyunjin. Can you see my color?”

“Color?” Yeojin felt like she’d be killed if she did not answer correctly. She glanced at Hyunjin’s clothes- a white dress. “White?!”

“No!” Hyunjin cried. “I told you she forgot everything!”

“Then we should take her back to her mother.” Narrow eyes nodded firmly. “I’m Jo Haseul. I… Do you remember where you live?”

“I-...!” Yeojin looked around at the winding roads, bordered by yellowing grass. She turned awkwardly, once, twice, then looked helplessly to the two women. “I don’t know… I think I’m from Seoul?”

“Seoul?” Hyunjin echoed. “That big city? We’re not far. We were just there!”

“We are only twenty minutes away from Seoul.” Haseul said flatly. She turned to Yeojin. “Do you remember your home address? Or your mom’s name?”

“Uh… Um..” Yeojin fidgeted nervously under Haseul’s gaze. “No…”

“This is so strange.” Hyunjin shook her head. “This… How can you not remember your mother? Your color is not prominent at all.”

“That’s okay,” Haseul smiled at Yeojin. “We can just look around and see if you find anything familiar.”

“Um… Okay…” Yeojin agreed hesitantly. Yeojin found nothing familiar about these two women- She didn’t understand anything about colors, or glows or prominence, or anything they were talking about, but for some reason, Yeojin trusted them. 

Haseul and Hyunjin walked with Yeojin through the strip of forest on their way to Seoul. 

“I know this sounds weird, but basically, Hyunjin and I are like… Colors. Sort of celestial beings. We’ve got this creator, and her name is Heejin. She wanted more colors in her universe, so she created Hyunjin, who’s yellow, Jinsol, who’s blue, and Kim Lip, who’s red.” Haseul explained, looking around at the forest’s branches tangled together.

“Kim Lip?” Yeojin echoed. The name was familiar.

“Weird name, right?” Haseul smiled.

“We are the Primary colors.” Hyunjin nodded, continuing Haseul’s explanation. “Heejin was always on Earth, and would spend decades down her before returning. I… Was in a relationship with Heejin. Dating? That’s what you’d call it. But one year, she’d come back and told me about the color Green. Haseul.”

Hyunjin gave Haseul a fond glance. “Jinsol and I combined our colors and created Haseul.”

Yeojin felt sick. Lesbians? Combining colors to create Haseul? These people had to be addicted to crack!

“But Heejin didn’t want us to raise her and teach her about the universe. She took her to Earth to spread her color.” Hyunjin explained. “It’s her purpose. But… The universe is imbalanced. There is no point in trying to fulfill our purposes, for we three have been tainted with evil just by speaking to one another.”

“Tainted with evil?” Yeojin repeated. “So you’re a religious cult?!”

“No. We’re kind of like descendents of Gods.” Haseul shrugged.

“I am not sure of your creation.” Hyunjin said to Yeojin. “I can only assume Heejin returned to the cosmos in anger and created you. Jinsol sent me a letter long ago about Heejin coming to the cosmos in rage and demanded the creation of new colors, but she never mentioned you were being created.” 

“How do you send letters from the cosmos?” Yeojin decided to humor these crazy bitches.

“Through the ocean. The letter has the pull of the moon, and finds the Colors.” Hyunjin said, and Yeojin had to hold back her laughter. “I sent one back those years ago when Jinsol sent me a letter, but I am not sure she’s received it.”

“Wow. That’s great. Who’s your crack dealer? Whatever you guys are on, I want it.” Yeojin said wryly.

“Don’t do drugs!” Haseul scolded. “They give you brain damage! Don’t go looking for reasons to let capitalism exploit you!”

“What’s capitalism?” Yeojin frowned.

“Yes… What is capitalism?” Hyunjin looked to Haseul.

They arrived in Seoul after a tiring walk, and the trio of girls sat on the nearest pedestrian bench they could find. 

“Aren’t you guys tired?!” Yeojin heaved, wiping sweat from her forehead.

“I am. But Hyunjin said the moon is getting more powerful, so my color has been becoming more prominent,” Haseul said thoughtfully. She grinned brightly, “So now my stamina is way higher!”  
“Colors cannot feel.” Hyunjin informed.

“Should I buy you something to drink, Yeojin?” Haseul asked her kindly.

“Yes!” Yeojin cried. Haseul got up to go get Yeojin a drink from the nearby convenience store, and Yeojin was left with Haseul. Yeojin scooted away from her.

“Is anything familiar?” Hyunjin asked.

“Huh?” Yeojin blinked. “Well… I guess. Seoul is familiar. I probably did live here.”

“You have no memories of your creation or your human life.” Hyunjin sighed. “I’m sorry, Yeojin. I should have been present for your creation. Heejin… She must not have been in the right state of mind when she ordered Kim Lip to create you.”

“Kim Lip…” Yeojin said, sitting up. “She’s familiar. Every time you talk about her, it really feels like I remember her.”

Hyunjin looked at Yeojin in surprise. “Kim Lip? You remember Kim Lip?”

“What… What does she look like?” Yeojin asked hopefully. “Please don’t say the color red. I’ll go and hang myself if you do.”

“She has well, perhaps a square like face?” Hyunjin suggested. “Her hair was once black, but she and Jinsol spent much time with the moon and stars. It’s been blonde now. Her chin is a bit in? She glows red?”

“Eh, don’t know.” Yeojin shrugged, but she knew that Kim Lip was somehow incredibly familiar. 

“I got the drinks!” Haseul said cheerily, and handed a water bottle to Yeojin and one to Hyunjin.

“What is this?” Hyunjin inspected it. “The ocean?”

“Water.” Haseul and Yeojin said as Haseul sat down. 

“It quenches our thirst.” Haseul said, drinking from the bottle.

“Ah.” Hyunjin awkwardly copied Yeojin and Haseul’s motions and unscrewed the water bottle. She drank it, but didn’t know how to swallow it. Yeojin and Haseul tried to teach her, but Hyunjin ended up gagging on it and spitting it out. 

They walked around Seoul together for a long while to come, and after a while of trying to rekindle Yeojin’s memories, she grew sick of it.

“This won’t help!” Yeojin snapped, sitting down on the curbside of the road. The sun was on its way to setting beneath the horizon. “Argh! Why did you crazy jerks knock me out like that?! I- I probably had a good life!”

“I’m sorry, Yeojin.” Haseul sat beside her first, and patted her back to comfort her. “But we really didn’t take you away. We really did find you.”

“And all those colors and cosmos and shit are really true too?!” Yeojin lashed out. “Shut up! Go away! Leave me alone!”

She got to her feet, and wiped her teary eyes with her sleeve. But just as she stood up, something caught her attention.

In bright, playful symbols, just across the street, “ORPHANAGE” was plastered on the top of a brick building. Yeojin stared at it for a long time, and finally, she felt her memories flood back into her.

“Yeojin?”

Haseul and Hyunjin were standing behind her, looking concerned. 

“I remember,” Yeojin hicked, and began to cry. “I remember everything!”

In Eden, Vivi arrived at the foot of the castle Heejin had promised her. Behind her, the portal Vivi had stepped out of was sputtering shut, colors sparking as it fell into a full closure. Vivi watched it with confusion- Was it meant to close? She looked to the sky, where the moon was pale against the daylight and grew nervous. She hoped Jinsol and Kim Lip could come find her on the night they’d promised. 

Vivi took in a deep breath, and went back to confronting the grand castle. A deep feeling of loneliness settled inside of her. The castle was enormous, with two looming towers and multitudes of windows (Despite there being so many windows, it didn’t seem like much light ever filtered through), and a third tower with a huge bell hidden within. The trees barely compared to the castle’s height. 

Jinsol and Kim Lip’s house was much different. Vivi recalled it with much longing as she wrapped her fingers around the castle gate’s handle, and pulled it with force. Jinsol and Kim Lip’s house was easy to open. The windows were not big like these were, but the whole house lit up with the natural light. It was much smaller than this too- Vivi wondered why she had to be separated from Jinsol and Kim Lip.

She pulled the gates open with force, and they groaned with intensity. Vivi only managed to open the gates a bit, but it was more than enough for her to enter. She slipped in, and her vessel’s sense of smell seemed to kick in- it smelled like emptiness. Vivi closed the gates, and was met with a grand, spiraling stair case once she turned around. The staircase split off into two different stairs, and were engulfed by the height of the castle. To Vivi’s left and right, there were two massive, winding halls, which had chandeliers hung from their ceilings, but barely lit up the halls due to their intimidating size. 

Vivi wondered with anxiety what she should do next. Her duty was to oversee their universe, and to make sure the colors would forever remain in balance. She decided to head for one of the towers- perhaps there she could have a view of the cosmos and their many planes of existence.

Vivi made her way to the stair case, her feet cold against the marble flooring. With quiet steps, she started up, but then, heard the clacking of shoes- different from Jinsol and Kim Lip’s, but shoes nonetheless. Humans wore them for a variety of reasons, like keeping their feet warm, and protecting their feet from getting injured. Vivi peered around curiously. It seemed there were no people in sight- Could Jinsol and Kim Lip have followed her to Eden?

“Jinsol?” She called cautiously, just in case.

Giggles echoed through the hallways. It had to be them!

“Kim Lip? Jinsol?” Vivi called again. 

“Are you Vivi?”  
Vivi turned around- to her right, at the foot of the winding hallway, a burgundy color glowed- it took the shape of a vessel, wearing yellow colored clothes with dark stripes. 

“Did… Heejin create you?” Vivi asked slowly. 

“Did you come from the cosmos?” Burgundy asked. “Or was it the other plane?”

“Middle earth?” Vivi suggested.

“Yeah. That.” Burgundy replied.

“I was born in the cosmos, but I spent time in the Middle Earth.” Vivi answered, and grew shy beneath Burgundy’s gaze. “I… I- Didn’t know there were more colors.”

“There’s more colors.” Burgundy said, and approached the stairsteps Vivi stood on. “Heejin created them after you left for the Middle earth. She wanted… To give you company, some how.”

“Heejin is kind.” Vivi replied softly.

“She is.” Burgundy grinned. “I’m Yves.”

“I-I’m Vivi,” Vivi didn’t understand why she was so shy around this color. “Where are the other… Where are the rest?”

“Come with me.” Yves said, and reached out a hand for Vivi to take.

Yves led Vivi down the hallway, and didn’t say much. The giggles and chatter grew louder as they approached wherever Yves was taking them, and finally, the hallway burst into a grand dining room. The only issue was that the table itself was not grand at all- it was set for just six people. Vivi wanted to ask if they had more chairs for whenever the other colors would visit them.

Around the table were colors glowing beneath the skins of their vessels- a light, pretty green, a color that seemed like a mix of the most pale orange and pink, and… Black. The color black. Vivi frowned. She had never seen that color.

“Here she is!” Yves announced, and the three colors turned their heads, staring at Vivi with wide, bright eyes.

“Your color is so beautiful!” The orange-pink color cried.

“This is Vivi?” Green asked. Her voice was sweet and quiet.

“Were you…” Black spoke up. “Sent by Heejin?”

“Yes. She said to come to Eden,” Vivi was blown away by the amount of new colors. “I hadn’t known she created so many colors once I’d left!”

“She made so many!” Orange-Pink agreed. She sprang out of her chair and ran to Vivi. “I’m Chuu! My color is peach! It’s a pretty color, isn’t it?!”

“I’m Gowon.” The light green introduced herself too, walking up to Vivi with Black.

“I’m Olivia.” Black said, giving Vivi a faint smile. “Olivia Hye.” 

“Your vessel has two names!” Vivi said, eyes bright.

“Most do. We just can’t remember them completely when we enter their vessels.” Olivia Hye explained.

“That makes sense.” Vivi nodded.

“We… Are all here to oversee our universe.” Olivia said. “Eden.”

“Are we not meant to oversee all of our universe? Heejin said to watch over those on Earth and those in the Middle Earth.” Vivi tilted her head. 

“The burden is too much for our shoulders.” Olivia shook her head. “To care for worlds beyond our reach is too painful. We must focus on protecting Eden. In the future… We can merge with the other worlds, and watch over them.”

Vivi did not have much time to think, for Chuu had swept her away from the conversation already.

“Why don’t we get you dressed!” Chuu suggested. “We like to wear uniforms in Eden a lot! We heard humans do it when they want to learn, and we’re in Eden to learn about our world, our colors and how to protect ourselves.”

“I’ve never heard of uniforms.” Vivi said shyly, taken aback by Chuu’s abrasiveness. Chuu grabbed her hands, “You’ll love them! We have very pretty ones! When we’re done with the day and learning, we can all change out of our uniforms, so don’t worry! Gowon makes us pretty clothes!”

“I should take your sizes.” Gowon said gently, standing beside the excited Chuu. 

“Come on!” Chuu pulled at Vivi’s hand. Gowon took Vivi’s left hand, and the two pulled her away.  
Vivi looked over her shoulder to Yves, who nodded in reassurance. As they left, Olivia stepped closer to Yves.

“What do you think?” Olivia asked. “About her.”

“What I think?” Yves hummed, and considered her thoughts. She shrugged. “She’s pretty.”

“Is Chuu not pretty?” Olivia teased.

“She is.” Yves agreed lightly.

“But not pretty enough?” Olivia grinned. “You really don’t like her?”

“Let’s not talk about this now…” Yves blushed, ducking her head.

“Our uniforms are yellow!” Chuu said once Vivi was fully dressed, head to toe.

“Yellow?” Vivi echoed. “There used to be a Color Yellow. She was one of the primaries. She created all the colors on Earth.”

Chuu and Gowon blinked at her, confused looks on their faces.

“Oh! You must not know!” Vivi giggled softly, looking to the ground. “Kim Lip and Jinsol told me everything. I’ll tell you guys one day.”

“Okay!” Chuu agreed happily. “Come look at yourself in the mirror!”

Vivi stared at herself in the mirror rather than her clothes. 

“Have you never seen yourself?” Gowon called, walking up to Vivi. She threw a peace sign, which was reflected in the mirror.

“I had no idea I looked like this!” Vivi laughed, and spun in front of the mirror. 

“You’re pretty!” Gowon said, linking arms with Vivi. She put her chin on Vivi’s shoulder. “It’s good you’re finally here. It’s just been a week, but it feels like we’re complete now that you’re here.”

Vivi grew stiff in Gowon’s arms- she’d never really been held, despite Kim Lip and Jinsol’s warm touches. This felt.. Different from Kim Lip and Jinsol. Vivi relaxed, and a bright smile grew on her face.

“It has been lonely!” Chuu agreed, and linked her arm with Vivi’s free arm. “All Olivia did was talk about you! We spent all week setting up your room! Vivi, do you have a favorite food?”

“Favorite food?” Vivi said thoughtfully, recalling what she ate with Jinsol and Kim Lip. “Chicken! The kind with the rough exterior.”

“Chicken!” Chuu said in excitement. “Olivia went to Earth yesterday and brought back chickens! She said- She said they make little chickens in these white circles! We have to study more about Earth foods!”

“We should study that tomorrow.” Gowon nodded. 

“Study?” Vivi echoed. “Like learning?”

“Uh huh!” Chuu nodded, her smile huge. “Oh! We should show her her room! And what about her closet? We need to make sure she likes her clothes!”

That night, Vivi lay in bed (the bed was built for comfort, with silky sheets, sinking pillows and thick duvets, and the whole thing was set inside a huge stone room) and thought about the events of the day. Gowon and Chuu were fun, Vivi thought with a fondness, Olivia seemed responsible, and… Yves… Vivi blushed. She’d been quite proactive at their first meeting, and just before Vivi was headed to bed, Yves caught her and leaned in close to her, asking about her day. She was thinking and feeling so much, that she didn’t have the chance to wonder about the creation of Eden’s colors, or think about Kim Lip and Jinsol.

The next day, Vivi dressed in her uniform, and went down the winding stairs. She found her way into the library, which Chuu had shown her yesterday, and she spotted Yves leaning against the wall beside the library.

“Yves!” Vivi called, and ran up to her. Yves looked up, and smiled at Vivi.

“You look good in your uniform.” Yves remarked with a gentle voice. 

“Thank you…” Vivi said shyly. Despite them standing apart, it felt like Yves was so close. “You look good… Um! In your uniform! You look good too!”

“Sit by me,” Yves asked, and took Vivi’s hands in hers. “I’ll show you how we study.” 

Vivi entered the looming library holding Yves’ hand- inside, the massive windows illuminated the specks of dust floating off of the possibly hundreds of untouched books. There were tons of desks, but Chuu, Gowon and Olivia were sprawled on the floor, turning pages of their books and doing something odd to the side.

“What are they doing?” Vivi whispered to Yves. 

“Writing.” Yves replied. “I’ll teach you. Can you read?”

Vivi shook her head, and looked up at Yves hopefully. Yves smiled back at her with a tenderness. “I’ll teach you that too.”

“You’re here!” Chuu interrupted, looking up from her book with bright eyes. “It took so long that we started already!”

“First day is like that.” Yves shrugged. “I’m gonna sit with Vivi at the desks today.”

“Oh! Why don’t we all sit together then?!” Chuu said, and happily began to gather her things to move to the tables.

“Just Vivi and I,” Yves stopped her. “I wanted to have her focus on learning how to read and write. She should be fine to study with us after a day or two.”

“Ah.” Chuu said, her happy face frozen. “Two days?”

“Why don’t we study on the floor?” Vivi suggested to Yves in a whisper, sensing the tension. 

Yves didn’t reply. Instead, she pulled Vivi to the bookshelves to scroll the books- Chuu watched on, her energetic face falling into a frown. 

Yves and Vivi sat together, shoulders brushing as Yves spoke in a soft voice, the notebook in front of them as she made gentle strokes on the paper. Every once in a while, Yves told Vivi to write, but if she kept getting it wrong, Yves would take her hand and help her write out the word. Vivi learned how to read by the end of the day, but still had trouble with writing. Yves excused it, and told her they’d take as much time as she needed.

“Should we go eat?” Olivia said as the sun was setting, shining through the window with pink light.

“Yeah!” Chuu shut her book quickly. “Let’s go! I’m hungry.”

“Hungry?” Gowon murmured, scoffing. Colors couldn’t feel hunger. Vivi stared at Gowon and Chuu, feeling there was something more to it.

“Will you cook with me, Yves?” Chuu asked, her eyes bright.

Yves looked back at Vivi, and pet her head. “Will you be fine?” 

Vivi blushed, and ducked her head. “I’ll be okay.”

Chuu’s eye twitched. “Come on!” She smiled at Yves, grabbing her hand. “We should get the vegetables chopped so we can eat quickly!”

“Did you eat food… With the colors?” Olivia asked Vivi as Yves and Chuu disappeared from the library. 

“With Kim Lip and Jinsol?” Vivi smiled. “Yes! We ate from time to time. There was steak, and sandwiches, and sometimes Kim Lip made cake, and it tasted good!”

“Did it?” Olivia smiled, but Vivi didn’t know if it was a happy one or not. Her eyes were dark.

“Don’t mind her. She’s weird.” Gowon said to Vivi, and Vivi felt relieved to be taken away from the awkward conversation. Olivia’s aura was too strong, too intimidating- it felt like there was a dark force waiting to eat Vivi whenever Olivia spoke to her. 

“Weird…” Came Olivia’s nasal voice, but the word was quiet. Vivi, uncomfortable, linked her arms with Gowon and leaned against her.

“Do you use seasoning?” Vivi asked Gowon.

“Seasoning?” Gowon tilted her head.

“Yes! The food tastes quite boring without it. Jinsol and Kim Lip taught me how to utilize it best!” Vivi explained happily.

“Utilize it? Just say _use it_!” Gowon suggested, and began to walk down the library, leading Vivi to the kitchen.

Olivia stood behind them. Her finger tips twitched.

Vivi would lounge on the couch with Gowon throughout the weeks, and talk to her about her memories. Gowon spoke about hers too, but everything was completely vague. She would mention that she’d never seen anything beyond Eden, and had mentioned she’d been alive for over a year now. 

“Do you remember Heejin creating you?” Vivi asked. On that day, she and Gowon were in uniform, white stockings rolled high, button ups ruffled and skirts hiked up their legs as they laid and sat on the couch.

“Heejin…” Gowon looked up at the ceiling. She was laying opposite to Vivi, their legs tangled. She looked at Vivi, and gave her a big grin. “I can’t remember!”  
Vivi felt most comfortable with Gowon. Chuu spoke to Vivi, but her expression seemed tight- she was always whisking Yves away after she and Vivi would spend the morning studying together to cook, or sew clothes, or something ridiculous to take Yves away with her. Vivi had already caught on- Chuu had feelings for Yves. Vivi had learned about feelings and things like love in one of the novels she had been reading with Yves as of late, and she was certain Chuu liked her. She must’ve not wanted Yves to talk to anyone but her. Vivi quite liked Yves- they got along well and Yves was always petting her and talking with pretty words to her. It made Vivi’s chest warm and fuzzy, and beyond that, Yves would visit her room in the night.

“Kim Lip is red…” Yves asked one night, standing on the balcony. In the sky, three moons hung, blue, red and purple, painting the night a variety of odd colors. The fourth moon, Earth’s moon, was a speck in the distance, miniscule compared to the three moons.

“Jinsol is blue.” Vivi pointed to the massive moon. She wore a green dress robe tonight, flowy and thin, and she thought of Haseul briefly. “There is a new moon. Before I left, Kim Lip and Jinsol said they’d be making a new color.”

“A new color?” Yves asked, and her voice was always smooth. Her night gown was white.

“It’s to restore balance within the universe.” Vivi told her, but she wasn’t too interested in talking about that. With each word, Yves was moving closer, and so was Vivi. “I don’t understand it very well, but Kim Lip said that imbalance brings chaos.”

Yves face was close to Vivi’s. Vivi slowly turned so that she was facing her, and stared at Yves’ lips, afraid to look in her eyes. Their breaths mingled.

“Jinsol and Kim Lip… They’re powerful?” Yves asked, and her lips brushed against Vivi’s. Vivi’s heart almost stopped, and she felt her eyelids flutter.

“Very… They have powers connected with the moon.” Vivi breathed, itching to lean in closer. “I think they’ll be excited to meet you.”

“Excited?” Yves’ bottom lip bumped against Vivi’s as she spoke. “When would they see me? We’re in Eden. They’re in…?”

“The middle earth.” Vivi said, and Yves’ hands pattered up Vivi’s back. Vivi began to tremble in her hold. “You’ll see them… Because they’re coming on the fiftieth night.”

“They’re coming to Eden?” Yves bit Vivi’s bottom lip, and she whimpered. Vivi’s face was burning, and she had no clue as to why- she assumed it was because of how cruel Yves was being to her. 

“They are.” Vivi confirmed as Yves let go. Vivi met Yves’ eyes, and the girl grinned. 

“Sleep well.” Yves said.

“Where are you going?” Vivi pouted, staring at Yves with rounded eyes.

“To bed. There’s new books to read tomorrow.” Yves said, and her eyes flickered to Vivi’s lips. “Sleep well.”

Vivi watched her walk away, and suddenly, she understood why Chuu always felt the need to whisk Yves away. Yves did things that only lovers did to Vivi! Vivi whirled around, leaning on the railings and putting her face into her hands. Did Yves do this to the other girls? The thought made Vivi feel… something, and it wasn’t a good feeling. 

Yves and Gowon were becoming special to Vivi, but she still felt strange around Olivia. Her presence was too threatening, and whenever she spoke to Vivi, the words would come out awkward and broken. There was no conversation to be had, despite Vivi’s attempts and Olivia’s strange prodding. Even so, Vivi tried. One morning, she went to Olivia’s bedroom.

“Olivia?” Vivi peered past her door after knocking. “Are you awake?”

Olivia looked up from her mass of blankets, hair disheveled and eyes more swollen than usual. 

“Do you wanna take a walk?”

Vivi had never walked in the woods around the Garden. It was cold, and the massive trees were ominous, but Vivi thought the way the fog hung on the ground and the fire flies flickering out were mysterious. 

“In the middle earth, there were this huge contraptions, and they were called roller coasters! There’s another one called a ferris wheel, and it takes you high, high, and it feels like you can touch the sky.” Vivi chattered aimlessly to Olivia. 

“Touch the sky…” Olivia always echoed things ominously like this.

“The last time I shifted dimensions was to come from the middle earth to Eden. And I think I haven’t been to the cosmos since I was born.” Vivi said to Olivia, thinking about her life. “You guys are forgetful! I asked Gowon and Chuu if they remember their creations, and they said no! They don’t even know what Heejin looks like.”

“Heejin abandoned us after our creation.” Olivia muttered. “She gave us no names. She made us and left. We were like… Test subjects. Something to keep her occupied.”

“Gowon said it must’ve been a year since she was created.” Vivi mentioned. “Were you all created a year ago?”

“Yves was created beside you…” Olivia glanced at Vivi. “You don’t remember?”

“Oh! Was she? I must’ve forgotten!” Vivi could not recall any colors of burgundy at her creation. In fact, making burgundy was nearly impossible with the set of colors Heejin had at that time. “Maybe that’s why I like her.”

“You like her?” Olivia glanced at Vivi again.

“She’s good.” Vivi blushed. “She’s a good friend.”

Olivia stared at Vivi, then looked ahead at the winding path of trees. She smiled. “I’m glad. That you like her. It’s nice. Yves has a rough aura.”

“...Yeah.” Vivi said, rubbing her arm. “I suppose she does.”

The forteith night neared, and there was no sign of Jinsol or Kim Lip. The three moons remained ever constant, hovering distantly within the day and hanging heavy in the night. Vivi grew sulky, and didn’t speak much to any of the girls in Eden. Gowon began to worry, and would tag along with Vivi and sleep in her bed. Even Chuu and Olivia would find her in bed, and stand awkwardly as she sniffled.

“Do you miss them so much?” Yves asked one night when Gowon fell asleep on the couch. Her arms were wrapped around Vivi’s wasit, hugging her from behind.

“Chuu must miss you.” Vivi sniffled, rubbing her eyes.

“I don’t miss Chuu.” Yves put her face into Vivi’s shoulder. “I miss you. You don’t talk anymore. You don’t listen to me whenever we learn, and you don’t even read the books. I touch you and you don’t even make a face. Come on, Vivi, you can’t be this sad.”

“Just go away.” Vivi wept, burying her face into her pillow.

“I won’t.” Yves insisted. “I won’t until you look at me.”

“Chuu would be mad if she saw.” Vivi cried. “So go away!”

“I don’t want to.” Yves pushed, moving closer to her. “I don’t like Chuu. I like you.”

“What?” Vivi looked up from crying, looking over her shoulder at Yves. “You don’t mean it, do you? You’re just being an ass again!”  
“Where’d you learn how to say that?” Yves laughed, and leaned over Vivi’s shoulder. “I’m serious. I like you. You’re so pretty, that I can’t resist. It’s so cute when I tease you… It’s hard to stop, Vivi, I don’t know what else to do but like you.”

“...You’re not lying?” Vivi wiped her eyes and rolled over. 

“Why would I lie?” Yves laughed. 

“You bite my lip… And you kiss my neck at night, and you touch my legs whenever we’re learning, and you grab me in the hallway to kiss my wrist, and you-,” Stating all the cruel things Yves had done to Vivi made her start to tear up again. “And you did it all even though I liked you!”

“You like me?” Yves smiled, and positioned herself above Vivi. “You… Like me, like I like you.”

“Like Chuu likes you.” Vivi’s bottom lip trembled, and she turned her head away from Yves.

Yves, for a moment, was quiet. Vivi glanced up at her, and found a dumbfounded expression on Yves’ face. Yves smiled, then she broke out into laughter. 

“I just realized…” Yves said through her laughter. “I was right. You are pretty. You make such a pretty face whenever you’re mad like this.”

“Yves!” Vivi hit her arm, but Yves would not stop laughing. “Yves, stop! I’m not- You suck!”

“I like you, Vivi.” Yves said after calming down. She looked at Vivi with a warm blush and shiny eyes, her smile bright. It was the happiest Vivi had seen Yves in… well, this was the first time Vivi had ever seen her so happy. It made Vivi smile too. “I wanna be together. What’s it called, Vivi? I wanna date you.”

“Date?” Vivi asked, and began to blush as she always did around Yves. “What does it mean?”

“You don’t remember? We just kiss, and hold hands, and go outside together. We can sleep in the same bed, and do stuff too.” Yves grinned. “I wanna try it, Vivi. You know what I mean?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” Vivi shook her head. “Try what?”

“I’ll tell you.” Yves said, and leaned down to whisper it into Vivi’s ear. Vivi’s face began to burn up again, and she pushed Yves. It didn’t do much; she still stood strong above Vivi. 

“That’s… Sinful.” It was the only word Vivi could find.

“We could make our own color too.” Yves grinned. “I think it’d be a pretty one.”

“Stop…” Vivi blushed, and put her hands over her face. 

“Vivi,” Yves grabbed one of her wrists, and kissed her palm. “Date me?”

“But what about Chuu?” Vivi said breathlessly, her face redder than the moon. “She likes you more than I do, Yves. She must love you.”

“But I don’t love her.” Yves frowned. “I… like you. And you like me. So stuff like somebody else liking me or liking you, it doesn’t matter. So long as we like each other.”

“You don’t make any sense.” Vivi laughed, and Yves kissed her. 

“Kim Lip was there!” Yeojin babbled, her face red and stressed. “I was from- I was from an orphanage, and- and she woke me up! She said she was adopting me, and I lived with her for- for five months? Six months? And then she told me that I have to fulfill my duty, I have to look after green and yellow! Haseul and Hyunjin, I had to find them so they could take care of me!”

Her incoherent yelling attracted the stares of passerbyers, who looked at Yeojin in alarm and picked up the pace.

“Yeojin!” Haseul laughed. “Don’t talk so loud! Here, drink your water and calm down.”

“She said my color attached to the wrong vessel, and that I was too young to fulfill my role!” Yeojin was breathing hard. She looked up at Haseul with tearful eyes. “Where is Kim Lip? I- I want to see her!”

“Kim Lip came to Earth?” Hyunjin was pale in the face. “And she stayed for half a year with you?”

“Yes! I just told you that!” Yeojin snapped, but Hyunjin looked ill.

“We have to get to safety.” Hyunjin shook her head, standing up abruptly. “We need to get as far away from here as possible.”

“What? Why would we do that?” Haseul asked, alarmed. Hyunjin had already dragged them around enough to disturb any normal person. Where would they go to keep them… safe? And what did safe mean in Hyunjin’s mind? The cosmos, as Hyunjin spoke of? Haseul, though she believed Hyunjin to some extent, didn’t truly believe the three of them could randomly travel to the cosmos.

“For now, we need to hide.” Hyunjin was biting her nails. She looked terrified. “We can’t stay in one place. Haseul, you- you told your mother you’re off on a trip, didn’t you?”

“I did.” Haseul frowned. “Hyunjin, what’s going on?”

“Let’s go. We’re going to a hotel.” Hyunjin said. “Hurry. Get up.”  
“Where is Kim Lip?” Yeojin interrupted again. “I miss her, I- I wanna see her, is there- is there no way to do that? I still have things to ask her, I still-,”

“Kim Lip can no longer return to Earth.” Hyunjin spoke, her voice trembling. “In fact, Heejin might kill her upon her return. Let’s go. We have to go…”

They walked until late into the evening- Hyunjin was heading towards the outskirts of Seoul. Yeojin complained and threw tantrums; she didn’t wanna walk, her feet were hurting, she wanted to know where Kim Lip was, she wanted to know why she couldn’t return. Yeojin burst into tears, Haseul asked Hyunjin to consider the poor girl, and Hyunjin remained in total silence until they arrived at the hotel.

“How do I ask for a room?” Hyunjin asked Haseul and Yeojin, who were both exhausted.

“One room, two beds.” Haseul panted, leaning against the door. “Please. You have to say please.”

Hyunjin nodded deeply, and went to the receptionist. 

“One beds, two rooms.” She said seriously. 

Haseul groaned silently. She really was an alien from the cosmos.

“Please.” Hyunjin topped it off, looking pleased with herself. Then, her face lit up in alarm. “No! One room, two beds, please!”

“Oh, haha…” The receptionist gave Hyunjin an awkward look. “Um.. Are you on drugs?”

Hyunjin leaned in close, her face always serious. “What is drugs?”

The lady gave Hyunjin her room key instead, and told her a very curt goodbye.

“She was very rude.” Hyunjin said gravely to Haseul and Yeojin, and presented them their room key. The receptionist looked up, her eye glinting at Hyunjin’s insult.

“Can we just go to our room?” Haseul whimpered.

They went to their room, and Yeojin immediately dove into the bed, hiding herself under the blankets. “Kim Lip’s apartment was nice. We lived there, and she gave me a really nice room, and I had a big bed…”

Yeojin was sniffling. Haseul exchanged looks with Hyunjin, who looked completely confused.  
“Do you want to shower?” Hyunjin asked randomly. “Humans like to shower.”

Haseul rolled her eyes, and went to sit beside the lump that was Yeojin. “Hey… I don’t know much about this cosmos and Loonaverse stuff that Hyunjin’s always on about, but I know that it really sounds like Kim Lip cared about you. Even if we can’t get you to her right now, it doesn’t matter, right? What matters is that you have her in your heart, and I’m sure she must be thinking about you and missing you. It’s good to cry, but don’t feel so sad, alright? If you liked each other so much, I’m sure you’ll meet her again.” 

“Maybe you will, or maybe you will not.” Hyunjin said deeply. “Kim Lip might be dead, or stuck in the middle earth. Perhaps she will return since she has already tainted her color.”

“Not helping!” Haseul narrowed her eyes at Hyunjin. Then, Yeojin peeked over her blanket.

“Do you mean it?” Her eyes were swollen from her tears. “You really think Kim Lip misses me?”

“I’m sure of it.” Haseul leaned over and stroked Yeojin’s head. “You’ll find each other again.”

Hyunjin woke in the middle of the night, startled. Looking out the window, she saw the reddening sky. Across from her, Yeojin and Haseul slept peacefully. Yeojin had cried to Haseul for a good while longer about missing Kim Lip and about how being with Kim Lip had been her only real home in her whole life, and other sappy things that Hyunjin could not quite understand. She tried to relate it to her longing for Heejin, but she came to realize it wasn’t the same as what Yeojin felt for Kim Lip.

Hyunjin approached them, and hovered over the two colors. She tilted her head, eyes boring into them. Then, she stroked Yeojin’s head, and pulled the blankets over Haseul. Humans felt cold easily. Strange creatures, Hyunjin reckoned. Then, she put on her shoes, and left to stand in front of the hotel room, staring up at the painted sky. Was it supposed to be red like this? Earth’s nights were pitch black, twinkling stars blocked by the enormous variety of lights on Earth. 

“First time seeing it?”

Hyunjin looked to her side. A random man was speaking to her. Hyunjin frowned, and looked away. She did not like to speak to the secondary sex. They were ugly compared to the female vessels.

“Scientists say it’s got something to do with pollution, but I’ve got no clue.” The guy went on, scratching his chin. Hyunjin wished he’d stop talking to her. “It’s been happening a lot the past few years. The moon’ll be real gone in the distance, and there’ll be these different colors in the sky.”  
Hyunjin gave the man a sharp look, glancing at him in alarm. “Different colors? This has happened many times before?”

“Yeah!” The guy smiled, looking happy that Hyunjin replied to him. “Last month, it was pink or something weird like that. For the last few years, the sky’s been turning red, blue or yellow. It’s been happening for a real long time. Can’t believe you’ve never seen it.”

“The sky was a dark pink?” Hyunjin asked.

“No, no. It was something like a real soft, light pink. I think it’s beautiful. There doesn’t need to be any explanations for pretty things, you know?” The guy mused, and then he grew awkward. He kept glancing down. “Where’s your shoe?”

Hyunjin looked down, frowning in confusion. Surely enough, she only had one shoe on. Hyunjin looked over her shoulder, thinking she’d stepped out of her shoe by accident.

“I tied my shoes very tightly…” Hyunjin mumbled, scratching her cheek. “Has the sky ever been a very vibrant pink?”

The guy looked thoughtful. “My mom told me she saw a really bright pink at night. When she was a little girl, I mean. She was staying up with her cousins, and she said there was this pink glow from the window. She looked up at the window, and she saw that sky. I guess this has been happening for a while, huh? It’s good. Now they’re scrambling to try and fix global warming and shit because of how unnatural the sky is at night.” 

“Chaos…” Hyunjin muttered. “I must’ve been right.” She thought of Haseul and Yeojin sleeping peacefully, and grew worried. She needed to get them to safety as soon as possible. 

“What is _that?_ ” The guy suddenly gaped, and pointed at the sky. Hyunjin followed his finger, and her face dropped. From the sky, in the deep distance, an asteroid was falling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 기분 따라 느낌 따라 WHY NOT DO IT?!!  
> WHY NOT WAS SOOO FREANKING GOOD!!! STREAM STREAM STREAM GUYS


	4. Chapter 4

There was a picture of Vivi stored in one of the drawer’s of Jinsol’s dresser. Her color was pretty- something pale and gorgeous that was so rare to find on the middle earth. Jinsol had once said that her color was the closest thing to the color of the Creator, god of all colors. Her vessel was abnormally pretty too. Choerry wasn’t quite sure why she was so pretty. She looked nothing like Jinsol and Kim Lip’s vessels, who Choerry had always found quite beautiful, but she remained beautiful in her own way.

Choerry often looked at this picture of Vivi, who stood on the porch, smiling- Choerry guessed Jinsol or Kim Lip had asked her to take the picture in a serious way. Kim Lip or Jinsol had taken it from far away, because Choerry couldn’t quite make out every single detail, and she could see from her head to her shoes. Vivi wore a pretty dress- it showed the color of her skin beneath the pale, thin, blue fabric. She had pink hair to match with her color- Choerry asked Jinsol and Kim Lip why, since they both had blonde hair and Choerry had brown hair, and the two colors sat and thought curiously about it for a while. They came up short, and Kim Lip suggested it might be because Vivi had spent her life in scattered places, so her hair reflected herself instead of her surroundings. But, Kim Lip had also said their vessels were all created with black hair, and had just turned different colors throughout time. Choerry didn’t think it made any sense.

To be honest, the universe didn’t make much sense to Choerry. Jinsol and Kim Lip told her everything about the stars and cosmos, and spoke with misty eyes about Yellow and Green, and recalled Vivi and Bright Pink, Heejin, with much fondness. Yellow was a beautiful color, that mirrored the way the sun looked from afar and had been created to be Heejin’s partner. She was a bit stiff, but she was funny. She and the Creator were lovers. Choerry always scrunched her nose at that- Lovers? But Heejin created her! Jinsol caught the look- 

“Creation is not like human birth. There are no ties of blood line. We all love each other in our own ways.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Choerry would agree half heartedly, but she still didn’t understand. She would never be in love with Kim Lip or Jinsol!

Jinsol would be up until late into the night speaking heatedly about how the universe was imbalanced, accusing Heejin for it by leaving, and raging about how the universe _should_ return to it’s normal state with Choerry’s creation- “But there’s asteroids falling left and right on planet Earth!” She’d yell. Kim Lip was always busy making tea around that time of night, letting Jinsol’s rant go in one ear and out the other. Choerry sat on the couch and fiddled with something called paper- there was something called a pen to accompany it- listening to Jinsol rant and Kim Lip’s quiet sighs and chuckles as Choerry scribbled on the paper.

Choerry would always think about what Jinsol was talking about. She and Kim Lip never quite specified where Heejin was, but Choerry figured Heejin abandoned the colors with the way Jinsol spoke. They never told her what happened to Yellow or where Green was, and never explained why Vivi had to go out on her own.

“Can’t Vivi live with us?” Choerry asked one night, laying in Kim Lip’s bed. “Why does she have to live far away?”

“She’s the angel of this universe.” Kim Lip told her as she read a book (Kim Lip found it a few weeks ago and had been re-reading it in attempts to learn Korean, because it was the language Heejin spoke most often). Jinsol was out in the field- “The carrots are ripe!” She’d cried in triumph, and ran out to the farm in the middle of the night.

“The angel? What does the angel do?” Choerry sighed.

“She cares for the universe in Heejin’s disappearance. I’m assuming things would be much worse if Vivi were not watching over us.” Kim Lip sighed, flipping the page of her book. “Since things are so bad already. Vivi must be having a hard time.”

“When will we see her?” Choerry said, rolling onto her back.

“On the fiftieth night of our departure, we are to meet again.” Kim Lip said. “We’ll visit Eden, where she lives. She must be lonely.”

“There’s nobody living in Eden?” Choerry asked.

“Just Vivi. Perhaps so she can focus on her task.” Kim Lip said. Then, she sighed heavily. “I don’t understand it. It’s confusing even for me. The three of us live here too, but were given no purpose but to remain. The universe is in chaos, Choerry. I’m not sure how we’re supposed to balance it. Jinsol’s right, you know? Heejin never should have left. It’s so confusing without her guidance. We were born with purpose, but now, we have nothing. Ah... I wonder if this is how humans must feel.”

“Why did Heejin leave?” Choerry propped up. This was good! She could finally know more secrets!

“She was scared of what her universe would become. She didn’t want the responsibility. We’d figured she needed some time away, but even in such a short time things are getting more and more difficult.”

Choerry frowned. She didn’t like Heejin so much.

Beyond just those difficult questions, Jinsol always said there were seven colors in their universe. Bright pink, light pink, red, yellow, green, purple and blue. But whenever she did, a strange look flashed across her face. She looked distant- sad. There were too many feelings in her eyes for Choerry to comprehend. 

Choerry thought about it often, and could only come to one conclusion. They weren’t telling Choerry about other colors. Why? Had they committed some grave sin? Choerry had heard them talk about evil before, but that was it. 

Things were complicated. Choerry was always thinking and thinking, but she never ever found the right conclusions. There would be nights when Jinsol and Kim Lip would leave in a hurry, and Choerry would watch through the window as Kim Lip collapsed onto the field and Jinsol tried to help her up. Kim Lip… Looked devastated. Like there was something incorrigible that she’d done. There would be nights where Kim Lip and Jinsol took Choerry out, and had her try to connect to the full moon. When nothing happened, Choerry would open her eyes and be met with the terrified faces of her two creators.

“What?” Choerry would ask innocently, but Jinsol and Kim Lip had sickly looks on their faces.

There were strange things left and right. Choerry would always listen to Kim Lip cry in the night, Jinsol mumbling to her and them fighting over whatever had made Kim Lip so sad. Choerry always felt bad. She wanted to help Kim Lip, ask her why she was so sad, but what could Choerry do? Every time she asked anything, Kim Lip and Jinsol liked to shut off further conversation. They’d do the same if Choerry tried to help them.

And, finally, conversation about the fiftieth night began. Kim Lip looked a little happier, and Jinsol spoke animatedly as she made all of the foods Vivi liked to take with them.

“It’s like this warp! You’ll like traveling through it! You get a little rush, and then boom, you’re all electrified and bam! You arrive!” She explained enthusiastically. Kim Lip was smiling as she helped Jinsol make food. Choerry watched them with a smile too, and she laughed along whenever Jinsol laughed at her own jokes. Choerry had never seen them like this.

“Are you wearing clothes you like?” Kim Lip asked Choerry on the fiftieth day. It was time to leave.

“Mhm! What clothes did Vivi like?” Choerry asked, running down the stairs.

“She wore a striped shirt and a skirt.” Kim Lip recalled. “She must still be wearing it.”

“Should I go pick the peaches?” Jinsol shouted as she ran down the stairs. 

“You didn’t pick them yesterday?!” Kim Lip scolded. “Hurry up and go! We can’t keep the warp open like this!”

“Come on, Choerry! Let’s pick them!” Jinsol hurried her, and Choerry followed behind.

Jinsol and Choerry returned to the portal with a basket full of peaches, and found Kim Lip hunched over, hands holding her head.

“Kim Lip? What’s wrong?” Jinsol called, and she tried to keep calm, but Choerry heard the anxiety in her voice. “Kim Lip?”

Kim Lip broke out into a long cry. Jinsol dropped the basket, and ran to Kim Lip’s side. Choerry watched in alarm, and hurriedly gathered the peaches that had fallen out of the basket before running after Jinsol.

“The portal…” Kim Lip heaved, fists balled into her hair. “The portal won’t activate.”

“What?!” Jinsol choked, and Choerry stood beside them, biting her lip. She glanced up at the moon briefly, then realized something. Their singular moon was not full. Choerry watched the half moon curiously as clouds passed over it. Jinsol and Kim Lip needed the full moon in order to activate the portal. It wasn’t activated because the moon was only half full. Choerry stared in confusion, tilting her head as Jinsol and Kim Lip’s cries went in and out of her ear.

The moon was not full.

“But it’s a full moon!” Jinsol cried, and both she and Kim Lip looked up. They stared in horror at the moon- They must be seeing the same thing Choerry was seeing! 

“Oh god…” Kim Lip looked ill. “Why won’t it activate? Why won’t it activate?! It’s a full moon!”

Choerry’s face fell. She looked back up at the moon, but it seemed as though she and her creators were not seeing the same moon. The moon was not full. Choerry thought back to yesterday, when Jinsol and Kim Lip had taken Choerry to try and connect with the moon a final time, and Choerry realized with a curious memory that the moon was in it’s final phase before the full moon, which would have been today. Choerry thought back to all the days leading up to this specific day, and found that nothing was wrong.

“The moon is not full.” Choerry said.

Kim Lip and Jinsol looked up to her. Choerry pointed at the moon. “It’s a half moon. It was full yesterday, but not today.”

“What are you talking about?” Kim Lip frowned, and Jinsol’s face twitched in anger.

“Choerry! Don’t joke around right now! Don’t you know how serious this is?!” Jinsol scolded.

“I’m being serious!” Choerry insisted. She turned away from the two women, and stared up at the satellite. “The moon isn’t full. But it was in it the second to last phase yesterday, remember? Today, it hasn’t completed the phase.”  
Choerry turned back to Kim Lip and Jinsol, who were staring at her in shock. “Is this the imbalance in the universe you keep talking about?”

They hopped from motel to motel, and Hyunjin, who had providing for most of the expenses, was running dry. She had to find Haseul and Yeojin somewhere to stay, and she had to find them somewhere to stay soon.

 _Not somewhere to stay._ Hyunjin would chide to herself as Haseul and Yeojin slept and she stood at the roof top of the hotel, watching the sky turn into frightening colors. _Somewhere to hide._

Hyunjin would walk through the streets at night, frequenting the places people liked to gather. There were panicked discussions with therapists that Hyunjin overheard through windows, arguments at bars Hyunjin listened in to, and at some point, Hyunjin was even staring into the window of a political conference. Those in power demanded scientists to find some sort of explanation for the influx of strange happenings (meteors, the moon’s constant disappearance in the night, darkness in the day time, random collapsing of buildings), and scientists looked terrified. They could provide no answers. Hyunjin knew nobody could provide any answers. 

Hyunjin watched the news when Haseul and Yeojin slept as well- she wanted to keep them away and unaware as much as she could, but it was hard, considering there were meteor showers every weekend and talk of having to take refuge in the ocean no matter where they went. Haseul and Yeojin pretended they knew nothing for Hyunjin’s sake. Hyunjin never noticed.

Apparently, there were five other places that were struck with odd disasters like this. France, Japan, Iceland, Hong Kong, Taiwan. In Hong Kong, it was even reported that the moon was turning different shades of a light pink throughout the weeks. But it wasn’t happening anywhere else in the world- so now, everyone thought Hong Kong was secretly messing with everyone. Apparently, China was gaining national support and aided them in oppressing Hong Kong. Hyunjin had no clue what that meant, but it seemed Hong Kong was gaining enemies at the expense of the imbalance in the universe of Colors. Something funny that Hyunjin learned was that people were also urging citizens to neuter and spay their cats, because the population of cats was half the Korean population. A lot of cats hung around the motels Hyunjin stayed at. She’d pet them and hold them as they circled her feet and watched the moon with her.

It had been months since things like this would happen. Hyunjin would watch as Yeojin cried in fear, afraid a meteor or a house would fall on them, and Haseul would comfort her and laugh through it. Hyunjin could tell Haseul was also quite scared. 

“Hyunjin, it’ll be okay, right?” Yeojin would climb into bed with Hyunjin when she was very scared and Haseul had gone to sleep.

“What will be okay?” Hyunjin asked her, and Yeojin hugged her. Hyunjin patted her head, and treated her as though she were a cat.

“You know. We won’t get exploded or something, right?” She sniffled.

“We will never be exploded.” Hyunjin shook her head. “Maybe the building will be exploded. But colors live eternally. Our vessels may die, but we will not.”

“What does that mean?” Yeojin broke into a sob. Hyunjin could never quite comfort her well enough.

“I have told you many times our essences are alive within us. These bodies are just our homes.” Hyunjin explained. 

“So nothing will happen?” Yeojin asked, and nuzzled her face further into Hyunjin. Hyunjin pat her butt instead of her head.

“Nothing will happen to us.” Hyunjin said. It was quiet for a moment, then Yeojin spoke again.

“Unnie, are you leaving soon?” Yeojin asked, her voice quiet.

“Leaving?” Hyunjin echoed, and thought about it. “When is soon?”

“I don’t know. More than a few days, but less than a month.” Yeojin tried to simplify it the best she could.

Hyunjin wanted to say yes, but for some reason, she did not want to. She felt as though Yeojin would feel very sad if Hyunjin said she’d be leaving.

“Why do you think so?” Hyunjin asked her instead, effectively avoiding the question. 

“We keep jumping from place to place, and you’re always gone at night.” Yeojin mumbled. “Why do we keep having to go to different motels? We jump from city to city every week. I feel like we keep moving motels because you’re trying to find somewhere to leave us before you go.”

Hyunjin was quiet. She’d guessed accurately. 

“I’m right. That’s why you’re quiet.” Yeojin was sounding sad again, and Hyunjin felt bad. She didn’t want this. She had predicted beforehand that Yeojin would feel sad had she known what Hyunjin was doing, and Hyunjin felt even worse when she realized that Yeojin had known Hyunjin’s plan all along.

“You must be safe.” Finally, Hyunjin hugged Yeojin back. “You and Haseul are human. You can be hurt much easier than I can. You have… stronger connection to your vessels.”

“Why do we have to be apart?” Yeojin sniffled, and held on tight to Hyunjin.

“We must be apart. The worst disasters are happening here because I am around you and Haseul.” Hyunjin murmured, and closed her eyes. “What happens to me doesn’t matter. What happens to you is what’s important.”

“Why are we so important? Can’t you just mix the colors again or something and create us again?” Yeojin said, her voice trembling. “I want you to live too. Unnie, I don’t wanna be without you.”

“...It’s impossible to recreate the colors now.” Hyunjin whispered, opening her eyes and staring blankly ahead. “There’s no return to the cosmos.”

“What?” Yeojin mumbled. “Return to the cosmos? Isn’t that where you live or something?”

“I have tried to return. But the pull of the moon… It’s weak.” Hyunjin shook her head. “There’s something wrong.”

“Hasn’t there always been something wrong?”

“There’s something wrong with Kim Lip and Jinsol.” Hyunjin explained. “The imbalance in the universe worsens by the day.”

“Unnie…” Yeojin hesitated before continuing. “What are we running from?”

“Nothing at the moment. We are in bed.”

“No! Ugh! Why… Why do we have to hide? And keep jumping from motel to motel?”

Hyunjin found that she did not have the exact response she always thought she’d be able to give- but she knew there was a response.

“There’s something following us. Not following, but there’s something hanging in the universe. There’s something… completely out of place. Like it’s a threat.” Hyunjin murmured. “But there is another reason. If Heejin decides to find us, she’ll know you and Haseul have been tempted with evil. And… you’ll never be able to reunite with Kim Lip. And Jinsol will never be able to see Haseul again.”

“So you’re lying for us? So we can go back to the cosmos or whatever?” Yeojin asked. Then, she broke back into tears. “Don’t do this, unnie! I don’t care that I can’t- I…”  
“I know you want to see Kim Lip again. And I want you both to be reunited with the colors in the cosmos.” Hyunjin said. “I’ll find somewhere safe for you and Haseul. Don’t cry, alright? I’ll send you letters if I can. That way, you’ll know I’m safe.”

“Where are you gonna be without us?” Yeojin cried. “Will you still be jumping from motel to motel like this? Are you gonna be alone without us?!”

“Alone without you?” Hyunjin echoed. “I’ll be okay. It doesn’t matter to me. There’s a lot of cats in the world to keep me company. Yeojinnie… when I do find the right place, make sure you listen to Haseul, alright? And don’t be mean to her. She is very fond of you. Haseul… She knows the truth, and the whole truth of this world, so don’t ask her questions from curiosity, for she loves you and will always tell you the whole truth.”

“Okay.” Yeojin nodded into Hyunjin’s chest. “I’ll be good. And I won’t ask questions.”

“If you can be good… Then I can send you letters more often when we’re apart.” Hyunjin went on, and stroked Yeojin’s head.

“Okay. I’ll be good. I promise!” Yeojin swore.

Yeojin slept with Hyunjin instead of Haseul after that night. Haseul always made a curious face, but never asked why. She brushed and braided Yeojin’s hair and sent her off to sleep instead of asking her too many questions.

Their few months fell into another few months, and Hyunjin grew more and more nervous as time passed. She stood outside one night, eyes on the moon as they usually were. A cat was kneading at her shoe.

“Hyunjin!”

Hyunjin turned around, and saw Haseul running down the street. She had been gone for a few days to be at her mother’s house- Hyunjin kept jumping from motel to motel so that Heejin could never quite sense their presences. Today, Haseul returned.

“Haseul.” She greeted plainly.

“Is Yeojin awake?” She asked breathlessly. “I told my mom everything’s alright, but the trip will last a bit longer.”

“Your mother… Would she be happy being away from you for long?” Hyunjin asked, frowning. 

“Well, not so long. But I could leave the safe house once in a while to see her, don’t you think?” Haseul asked, smiling brightly.  
“Leave…” Hyunjin looked from Haseul to the moon. “I don’t think… You will be able to leave.”

“What?” Haseul blinked. “What do you mean?”

“Do you know Iceland?” Hyunjin asked, looking to Green. Haseul thought for a moment, then nodded.

“There is… something like a warp there. A split in the dimension. A… tear. There’s a field there where the moon shines blue, and the field goes on forever. There’s no end to it. It’s infinite. It’s some sort of loop. There’s a little house, and then the more you walk the field, the more times you come across the house.” Hyunjin said. She looked to Haseul seriously. “I think Jinsol set it out for you. I haven’t spoken to her in many moons, but… I don’t doubt that this is her doing.”

“And people can’t visit us in that warp?” Haseul asked, eyes rounded. “...What about my family?”

“Go be with them for another few days. Reenact the symptoms of the sickness in your mind.” Hyunjin said, pursing her lips afterwards. “There are things of detainment called mental hospitals. Say to them that you’ll be writing letters.”

“But… I’d be lying to them!” Haseul said, biting her lip. “Hyunjin, I know this is for the greater good, but I really can’t see them? There’s no way?” 

“There will never be a way.” Hyunjin sighed. “This is hard enough as is. I don’t even know for how long you’ll have to hide or for how long you’ll be away. Just- Just do what I’m asking, alright? I don’t want to be apart from you. The last thing I want to do is be apart from you, but Haseul, please… Don’t you know that I’m doing all of this for you?”

Hyunjin and Haseul met eyes, and Haseul was looking at her in surprise. There was a long silence, filled only by the purr of the cats gathering at Hyunjin’s feet and the distant screech of cars.

“Hyunjin… that’s the first time I’ve seen you show emotion.” Haseul broke out into a smile. Then, she laughed. “I guess all of this crap is true, isn’t it? The cosmos, the colors…. Everything is true, huh?”

Hyunjin stared at her in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

Haseul hugged Hyunjin. Hyunjin stood stiffly in her hug, and awkwardly returned the embrace.   
“Thank you, Hyunjin.” Haseul sniffled. She was crying now? Humans were so complicated… “Thank you for showing me who I really am. I think… I would’ve died without you.”

Hyunjin was quiet. Then, she relaxed into the hold. “I think I would have died without you as well.”

They only pulled away after a long while. Hyunjin held Haseul’s face in her hands. “Go be with your mother and do as I said. I’ll come to get you after… Four days. You and Yeojin must be safe. Always… be safe. If anything goes wrong, connect with the moon.”

“How do I do that?” Haseul asked through a laugh, a tear slipping from her eye.

“You’ll know when it’s time.” Hyunjin promised her. She studied Haseul’s face, and her expression softened. “I’m sorry. I’ll fix this as soon as I possibly can. But for the time being, we just… have to hide. We must hide and be safe.”

Gowon could be considered the victim of an elaborate crime. Well, she could be considered a…. Bystander. She knew of everything that Olivia and Yves spoke of. She knew the secrets and overheard the whispers, and knew what the stakes were with Chuu and Vivi. She had never been told, but she knew. To be honest, Gowon could be considered a perpetrator of the crime. The real victims were Chuu and Vivi- Chuu, who was so desperate for Yves’ attention, and Vivi, who couldn’t help but fall in love with Yves. She had seduced them both in such ways that were impossible to deny. 

Gowon knew the plan. She knew everything. 

But she also knew Vivi and Chuu. The months passed with them as her friends, and she grew to know more and more about them. Chuu’s infatuations and obsessive behavior was something that only pertained to Yves, in reality. She was good beneath what Olivia and Yves had intended her to be. She was more than good. She was sweet, and cheerful, and loved strawberries, and always hugged and kissed Gowon, Yves and Olivia, and always made sure everyone was having a good time, or enjoying their food, or just felt comfortable. 

Vivi was so pure, that it felt wrong for Gowon to keep lying to her. She had a pure heart, a pure love for Yves, pure intentions for the world- she was like a sheet of white, or in her case, light pink, that burgundy colors were starving for. Vivi was like a “mother” in a sense. Gowon would put her head in Vivi’s lap as she read a book, or as Vivi fawned over her, and Gowon loved it deeply. There was no better feeling in the world than when Vivi caressed her head. She cooked often for Gowon and served her and Chuu their favorite foods- and she always cut up strawberries for Chuu, and pineapples for Gowon. Chuu ate the strawberries despite pettily accepting the offer, and Gowon, for some strange reason, thought it would be wrong to eat the pineapple. Like she was betraying Vivi by eating it- like Satan was lapping from the hand of God. If she ate it, she thought she might feel like she should confess immediately to Vivi. But Gowon fed it to the crows outside anyways, because she did not want Vivi to feel like Gowon was rejecting her. Vivi was always happy to see Chuu and Gowon’s plates empty.

The only problem was Yves. 

Gowon was reading on the sofa one night, waiting for Olivia to come downstairs so they could go on a walk together. But there was something strange that Gowon kept hearing- whispers, giggles, things like that. Gowon put her book down in confusion. Vivi had gone to sleep long ago, so who could be giggling like that at this hour.

Carefully, Gowon slipped off her shoes so she could not be heard, and set down her book. She padded towards the sound, wandering until her white socks turned black- she finally found it. She stopped right in front of the hallway that lead to one of the studies, and pressed her chest against the cold wall. It was a cold night. It was always a cold night.

“Should we be doing this?”

“Doing what?”

“It’s wrong!”

“What’s wrong? There’s nothing wrong!”

“This is so wrong!”

Gowon paled, her heart sinking. She recognized these voices like she recognized her own- she peered past the hallway’s wall, and felt as though she were watching a sin.

Yves had Chuu pressed to the wall, her head dipped as she kissed Chuu’s neck and touched her thigh. Chuu, who Gowon knew could never resist, had her head thrown back as she giggled, face flushed red.

“What about Vivi?” Chuu laughed a bit too loudly. Gowon’s heart felt like it was being stomped on when she heard Chuu say Vivi’s name so dirtily. She felt… ill. She knew Chuu did not care for Vivi in the same way her question implied.

“What about her?” Yves grinned. “She won’t mind. She said she loves me.”

“Do you love her?” Chuu asked Yves breathlessly.

“No.” The word made Gowon’s knees wobble. “You know that I like you. Vivi… I’m only with her so that she doesn’t think anything’s wrong.”

“Oh, right! She’s loyal to those colors, isn’t she?” Chuu giggled, and they went back to kissing. 

Gowon’s heart was pounding in her chest. She flipped so that her back was pressed against the wall, and her eyes were as wide as the three moons. She couldn’t believe what she had just seen- Every day, Yves and Vivi would come downstairs hand in hand. Yves would put on Vivi’s slippers, insisting she didn’t want her feet to get cold, and Vivi would blush and laugh like Yves had never done it before. Every day, Yves and Vivi flirted in the study and laid together, and whenever they had their breaks, Yves and Vivi would go off giggling, never apart. They even shared the same room and slept in the same bed. 

This… Felt like the worst kind of evil. Gowon felt like she could die for a second- the sounds of kissing and thudding, of “love”, went in and out of her ear, and she felt horrible as she realized what Vivi would feel had she seen and heard such things. 

_I have to tell her!_ Gowon’s first thought was this. Trembling and weak in the knees, she hurried as quietly as she could away from the hallway, and ran away as soon as she thought Yves and Chuu wouldn’t hear her. She ran up the stairs, almost tripping, and ran until she was just outside of Vivi’s room.

She slowed down, and heaved, trying to catch her breath before she knocked on Vivi’s door. Her heart was still racing, and she had no idea how she would tell Vivi about this, but she knew that she had to do _something._ She was the perpetrator of Olivia and Yves’ wrongdoings, but she would become the villain if she let this slide without a word.

Just as she was going to knock, someone grabbed Gowon’s wrist.

“Olivia!” Gowon gasped, almost falling to her knees. 

“...What are you doing?” She asked, eyes sharp as usual.

“I- I just wanted to tell Vivi… About what happened in the book we were reading… together…” Gowon panted, and tried to hide her trembling. 

Olivia stared at her. She narrowed her eyes, triangle lips quirking into a frown. “Would she like a spoiler?”

“What?”

“Isn’t it rude…” Olivia’s eyes were boring into Gowon’s. “To spoil a story?”

Gowon fell silent. Then, as though to save her, Vivi’s door creaked open.

“Gowon? Oh, Olivia!” Vivi smiled at them, and Gowon felt even worse. How could she smile like this when something so sinful was happening just below her feet! “I heard something and I wanted to check! Is…” She glanced at Olivia’s painfully tight hold on Gowon’s wrist. “Is everything okay?”

“Gowon wanted to tell you about something that happened.” Olivia said. “But I said it’s better if you read it yourself.”

“Read it myself?” Vivi tilted her head.

“The book you guys have been reading.” Olivia tried to play it cool, but she kept glancing at Gowon, expecting her to cover up.

Vivi was quiet. Then, she smiled again. “The book we’ve been reading. Right! It’s a good book!”

Olivia seemed to relax. “Gowon wanted to spoil it for you, but I said it’s better if she didn’t.”

“Ah! Is that so? Well, I don’t mind anything if it’s coming from Gowon.” Vivi beamed. She pet Gowon’s head, and Gowon almost jumped at the touch. She was desperate to run and hide behind her. “Tell me what happened later, alright?”

“Okay.” Gowon said gratefully, and managed to smile at her. “Okay, thanks, unnie.”

Vivi laughed. “Unnie? You don’t even know my vessel’s age! I’m probably younger than you, to be honest!”

Gowon grinned at her, but she couldn’t help but shake. “Yeah? Well, you just feel older!”

“You know the Korean honorifics, right Olivia?” Vivi prompted, and Olivia nodded awkwardly. 

“Yes… I know.” Olivia mumbled.

“Just making sure you’ve been studying.” Vivi joked. “If that’s all, I’m gonna go back to bed. Gowon, have you seen Yves? I got up to look for her after I heard the noise…”

“...I-,” Olivia squeezed Gowon’s wrist fiercely. “...I haven’t seen her.”

Vivi, again, was quiet. Again, she smiled. “Okay. Good night!”

Vivi watched from her balcony as Olivia dragged Gowon out of the castle and into the woods. There was no book. 

“Ow! Ow, why do you always grab me like this?!” Gowon whined, and Olivia finally let go of her.

“I’m sorry.” She said immediately, and lifted Gowon’s wrist gingerly. “I’m sorry, Gowon. Does it hurt a lot? I’m sorry.”

She was always apologetic like this whenever she hurt Gowon. Gowon always felt bad too- her face was so gentle, and she always looked like she was on the verge of tears whenever she’d wronged Gowon.

“No, it’s okay.” Gowon shook her head. She moved her wrist in full motion. “It’s fine! See?”

“Gowon… What were you about to tell Vivi?”

“I was gonna tell her the spoiler in our book.” Gowon said the lie with confidence. Olivia’s eye twitched.

“That spoiler… Doesn’t happen to be a big one, does it?” Olivia went on. “Did you, I don’t know, see anything in your book?”

“What would I see in your book?” Gowon laughed.

Olivia was quiet. Then, she blushed, and looked to the ground. “I know this is wrong, but… I’ve been hiding notes for Vivi in the books. You haven’t seen any of them, have you? Please don’t tell Yves. I know it’s wrong, I-... I just really like her. I don’t know how else to confess.”

“That’s why you were grabbing me?” Gowon laughed. “Because of something dumb like that? Olivia, you could’ve just told me!”

“I felt wrong telling you. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t grab you like that.” Olivia shook her head. “I shouldn’t ever hurt you at all.”

“You don’t hurt me. You’re just rough.” Gowon nudged her. “Come on, don’t feel sad! Let’s go on our walk!”

Gowon laughed and chatted with Olivia as normal, but she knew nothing was normal. _She’s lying._ Gowon thought, staring at Olivia as she crouched down, sorting through the leaves to find a bug for Gowon. She was lying about liking Vivi, she was lying about the book, she was lying about everything. 

“Gowon, look!” Olivia said, her face bright. 

“What is it?” Gowon approached her, and leaned forward. Inside of Olivia’s hands, there was a dead butterfly, it’s blue wings full of holes and tears, faded and grayed.

Gowon knew she was lying about Vivi because Gowon knew, somewhat, that Olivia and Yves were both planning things together (Gowon never knew what of, but she knew they spoke of nothing good). And beyond this, every day after Gowon and Olivia’s walk in the park, Gowon watched closely as Olivia interacted with Vivi, and nothing indicated that Olivia loved her. Nothing at all.

The incident between Gowon and Olivia had been forgotten, but Gowon had not forgotten what she had seen that night. She paced outside of Vivi’s room constantly, debating on whether or not to tell her.

“Where are you going?” Gowon asked Yves one evening as Vivi and Olivia had gone out to pick fruits.

“Chuu’s room.” Yves said naturally. “Wanna come?”

“No.” Gowon said. “No, I was just curious.”

Once Yves went up the stairs, Gowon ran down them. This was her chance! All she had to do was call Vivi in, and take her upstairs to see what was happening!

But just as she was about to jump off of the last step, Yves called for her.

“Gowon.”

Gowon froze. She’d been caught again!

“...What is it?” Gowon smiled.

“Come with me.”

Yves had taken her to Vivi’s room, where she slept in most of the time. Yves opened the closet as Gowon sat on the edge of the bed. She watched as Yves sorted through Vivi’s clothes, and fondled the ones she most liked. Gowon knew, because everytime Vivi wore something to Yves’s liking, she made a fond face and proceeded to talk about it all day. 

_Too bad it was all fake._

“You heard us that night, didn’t you?” Yves finally spoke.

“Which night?” Gowon said, leaning onto her knees. “The night where you and Vivi were in the kitchen?”

“Cut the shit. You saw me and Chuu.” Yves spat. “I noticed you peeking.”

Yves let go of Vivi’s clothes, and she shut the closet door. She turned to Gowon, and for a moment, Gowon felt afraid. She sat up straight, only to scoot further back onto the bed as Yves approached her.

“Listen, Gowon. I know that you know what me and Olivia talk about.” Yves began, and the look on her face was as though she was threatening Gowon

“What talk?” Gowon muttered, her heart starting to beat.

“Just quit it! I know already!” Yves snapped. Her chest heaved for a moment as she stared Gowon down, and then, she fell to her knees. “...Don’t tell Vivi.”

“Why shouldn’t I?” It was pointless to keep up the act at this rate. Gowon sort of wanted Yves to feel afraid, and feel terrible too. 

“I know you’ve been trying to tell her. But please… Please don’t tell her.” Yves’ voice grew quieter the more she pleaded. “She’s all I have, Gowon. I love her. I really love her. Don’t tell Olivia- Don’t tell anyone what I’m saying! At first, I sided with Olivia. I hated everyone, I hated all the primaries and the colors and- and whatever, I did, I sided with her! I wanted to be apart of her everything! And- and Chuu, she’s always liked me, and Olivia, she wanted me to keep her around, so that when we _do_ reveal the truth, Chuu will agree immediately. And we were happy for a year, when it was just the four of us, and I was convinced the plan would really work- Really, I was convinced! But then Vivi came, and she was so beautiful, I already felt bad for trying to tempt her! And the more she talked to me, and the more she touched me, Gowon, I fell in love with her. I genuinely- I seriously fell in love with her. I feel like I can’t live without her, Gowon, I know I don’t deserve her, and that I’ve wronged her, but I’ve never wanted anything more than her, so _please_ don’t tell her.”

“You’re selfish.” Gowon said after a while. Yves looked up from pressing her forehead to the floor, teary eyes swollen. 

“What?” Yves’ lips parted.

“You’re selfish.” Gowon repeated. “You won’t stop with whatever you and Olivia are doing, but you still want Vivi to be yours. You’re selfish.”

“That’s not true!” Yves snapped. “That’s not true at all! Olivia- She’s right! I know you know everything, and she’s right! I just have to convince Chuu enough so that she can follow us when it’s all over, and I- Vivi will come with me, right?”

Gowon, in reality, had no clue what the “plan” was. She had no idea there really was a plan. She had always known Olivia and Yves were scheming, but she never knew _what_ they were scheming, and here Yves was, convinced Gowon knew everything and would spill all her plans to Vivi.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Yves. I’ve never heard your stupid plan. But if this has something to do with the Primaries, you need to think again about Vivi.” Gowon sighed. “She loves them. I know you think all that matters to Vivi is you, but all she talks about is Kim Lip and Gowon, and rambles on about how pretty Choerry must be. She looks up at the moons all the time, Yves, and there’s love in her eyes when she does.”

“She doesn’t love them.” Yves said quickly. “She wasn’t with them enough to love them. She- She just loves me!”

“There’s different kinds of love!” Gowon cried. Then, her face fell into a grave look. “...But you know that too. You think Vivi doesn’t love anyone but you?”

“She doesn’t care about you guys. She- She cares about me!” Yves stuttered. “...I only want her to love me. Just me.”

Gowon fell silent. Yves was more fucked up than she’d ever assumed she was.

“So, what? You and Olivia are gonna go through with this plan, and you think Vivi’s gonna follow along?” Gowon said. “You know Vivi’s purpose is to watch over our universe, right? Heejin, our creator and all that, made her to be our universe’s angel?”

“But she’d side with me!” Yves was tearing up again, and Gowon began to understand why Yves was obsessed with the idea that Vivi only loved her. She thought that if the Colors really were to come and take Vivi, Yves would be left alone without her. “You’re stupid, Gowon! You don’t get anything about love, or about what’s real and what’s not!”

“So why do you keep kissing Chuu?!” Gowon cried, lifting her legs up on the bed. She didn’t want to be so close to Yves. “If you keep messing around with Chuu, but you’re so afraid to be without Vivi- It doesn’t make any sense!”

“It’s for the better!” Yves insisted. “Once it’s over, I can explain to Vivi and Chuu everything that happened. That way, they’ll both be safe. I don’t like kissing Chuu, I don’t like touching her, but what can I do? Gowon, what can I do?”

As Yves wept and groveled on the floor, Gowon had the sneaking suspicion that Olivia had something to do with all of Yves’ ideas. 

“...I won’t tell Vivi.”  
Yves looked up. She scrambled to her knees. “You won’t tell her? Anything?”

“No. Not for now. But you can’t be with Chuu anymore. You have to tell her you don’t like her.” Gowon said. “You _have to._ It doesn’t mean to do it when I’m not watching or when Vivi’s not watching. I’m saying to never, ever do it, okay?”

“Okay!” Yves wiped her tears. She threw her arms around Gowon. “Thank you, Gowon. Thank you so much, I-... I don’t know what I would’ve done if you had said anything…”

As Yves rambled on, Gowon caught a glimpse of the permanently gloomy sky outside. There was a blue butterfly perched on the window, resting before it continued its flight through the foggy land. For a moment, Gowon recalled the dead butterfly Olivia had shown to her just a few days ago. Gowon wondered if she’d ever be free, like that butterfly, and wondered if she’d be able to fly freely and die on her own accord, just like the other butterfly.

“Yves,” Gowon whispered. “You know that there’s a way for you to be with Vivi, right?”

“A way?” Yves rubbed her eyes, pulling away from Gowon.

Rain began to patter against the window. The butterfly’s wings were being beaten by the droplets of rain.

“Let’s leave Eden. Let’s leave Eden and go to Earth.”


	5. Chapter 5

The field was vast and… green. There were masses of rye, hills in the distance, a permanently blue sky in which the weather never changed, and every night, Yeojin would wait by her window staring at the fields, waiting for Hyunjin to magically appear over one of the hills.

But it never did happen. Hyunjin was serious when she said Yeojin and Haseul’s lives were in danger, and Yeojin knew it, because otherwise, she wouldn’t have hidden Yeojin and Haseul away in the cranny of the universe and made them swear to stay hidden and seek out no one. Hyunjin would never show her face in the field until the said danger was actually resolved and totally gone- and neither Haseul or Yeojin would ever know what that danger was.

“What do they speak in Iceland?” Yeojin had asked Hyunjin, sitting in her lap that day. They were at the airport, and Hyunjin had given them masks and hats to keep their faces a secret too. This would be the first time Yeojin had ever gone on an airplane. 

“You don’t have to know that.” Hyunjin said. “You won’t speak to anyone.”

“They speak Icelandic.” Haseul stepped in, closing her book. 

“How do you say hi?” Yeojin asked, swinging her legs. Hyunjin held her waist to keep her steady.

“Hi.” Haseul replied.

“Wow! Just like English!” Yeojin had marveled. “How do you say; There’s no one home!”

Hyunjin scoffed. She smiled. Yeojin smiled too, happy she’d made Hyunjin feel something.

Haseul looked it up on the translator, and played the pronunciation of the phrase. Yeojin made a face. “How am I supposed to say that?!”

“You won’t need to.” Hyunjin assured her again.

“Hyunjin, how are we supposed to eat and buy groceries?” Yeojin prompted.

“I have planted fruit trees in the backyard.” Hyunjin stated.

“We can’t only eat fruits!” Yeojin complained. Haseul was reading her book in peace again, looking sleepy. 

“There’s meat in the frozen box.” Hyunjin elaborated. “There’s also bread. I put many seasonings. I’m sure it will be fine. I have set up a farm.”

“You know how to farm?!” Haseul asked in surprise. 

“I read a book when I traveled to Iceland.” Hyunjin explained seriously. “Then I created the farm. There are things like vegetables and wheat.”

“I’m gonna get so skinny.” Yeojin sighed deeply. “No more chips. Or junk food. Or pizza. Or chicken wings… Hyunjin, what if we really run out of food?”

“Then I will return to the field and bring food.” Hyunjin assured her. “Do not worry. Colors cannot die from starvation. It just puts you in an excruciating amount of pain.”

Yeojin put her head on Hyunjin’s shoulder, and patted her lamely. “I think I’m not gonna miss you, unnie.”

Hyunjin did not want to take a cab from the airport to the field, but Haseul talked her into at least asking the cab to go halfway. So, after a ten hour flight, they went halfway in the cab, and walked the other half (an hour walk) to go to the field. Yeojin complained the whole way, Haseul remained optimistic, and Hyunjin stayed in total silence. She kept looking at the faded moon in the blue sky. 

“Unnie, you really want to torture me like this? Why can’t we just take a cab?” Yeojin heaved, dragging her suitcase behind her as they crossed the matted grass. It was impossible to take in the lush greenery and scenic views of Iceland, because one, Yeojin was exhausted, and two, it was fucking _cold_. Hyunjin had given Yeojin her thick jacket, but Yeojin was still cold. The tip of her nose was totally red. 

“Unnie, what if Haseul and I get super sick of each other? Is there at least internet? How about a TV?” Yeojin pressed on. “Unnie, for how long will we be there? For a year? For two years? Are we only there for a month?”

Hyunjin had the ability to completely filter out Yeojin’s complaints, but even the ever-happy Haseul was getting annoyed. She glanced over her shoulder, and gave Yeojin a sharp look.

“What?! These are serious questions!” Yeojin insisted.

“The more you complain, the more you will suffer from dehydration.” Hyunjin stated seriously. Haseul laughed, but Yeojin didn’t think it was too funny.

“Look.” Hyunjin stopped, and pointed somewhere. “There it is.”

Yeojin hurried to squeeze in between Haseul and Hyunjin, eager for some encouragement that they’d be at the house soon. But there was nothing.

“That’s just grass.” Yeojin said flatly.

“It must be a joke.” Haseul waved it off. “Hyunjin’s still learning how to joke, right, Hyunjin?”

“No. I never joke.” Hyunjin said. “The house is there.”

“Okay..” Haseul said awkwardly. “Um… Do we have to go down the hill to see it?”

“You should be able to see it from here.” Hyunjin shook her head. Then, in peculiarity, she looked at Yeojin and Haseul. “You cannot… See the house?”

“Well, it’s probably too far away! Do colors have advanced vision?” Haseul suggested peppily.

“Yes.” Hyunjin frowned. “But so do you. Fine then. Let’s keep walking. The house is there.”

As Hyunjin took the lead, Yeojin caught up with Haseul.

“Unnie, is she being serious?” Yeojin whispered.

“Probably some weird cosmos thing that only Colors can see.” Haseul offered a confusing answer, but Yeojin accepted it, nodding seriously. They walked another thirty minutes, and Yeojin was too tired to complain. She held Haseul’s hand, then held Hyunjin’s hand. At some point, Hyunjin picked up Yeojin and held her in one arm, then picked up Yeojin’s luggage and held it in the other.

“Hyunjin! What the hell?!” Haseul cried.

“What do you want?” Hyunjin said. The phrase was out of place.

“Why did you pick me up?!” Yeojin gawked. “I mean- How did you pick me up?!”

“I picked you up because I picked you up.” Hyunjin said simply. “You know, you both are my creations. I care for you deeply. Can I not pick you up?”

“Wait. What? You’re my what?” Yeojin said, immediately getting over the shock of Hyunjin picking her up with such ease.

“Creator. Have I not told you this? Kim Lip used what was rest of my essence in the cosmos to create you.” Hyunjin said. “Yellow and red creates orange.”

“Oh, right!” Yeojin said. “So who gave birth to me? You or Kim Lip?”

“Neither of us.” Hyunjin said seriously.

“Creation is like… Just being created. It’s like when that guy made Pinocchio. He was just created to be his son. Or Frankenstein, I guess.” Haseul explained. “Ah, that doesn’t make sense. Those all view their creators as father figures…”

“So Hyunjin’s not my mom?” Yeojin was deeply upset by this. “And neither is Kim Lip?”

“No. Why would I be your mother?” Hyunjin frowned.

“You kind of take care of us like a mom.” Haseul remarked. “Or like a really distant aunt, tasked by our mother to take care of us.”

“What?” Hyunjin was confused now.

“Yeah! What Haseul unnie said!” Yeojin agreed enthusiastically. 

“I am just doing what I should.” Hyunjin shook her head.

“I don’t think any one would go out of their way to protect two random people from danger.” Haseul laughed. “Just you.”

“But this is not true. You are not random. Jinsol and I created green, and Kim Lip created orange with my color.” Hyunjin said. “I’d think I am closely related to you.”

“But you don’t know us, is what Haseul unnie’s saying.” Yeojin went on. She put her arms around Hyunjin’s neck. “So we’re like strangers. Like your really distant nieces.”

“I still don’t understand. What is a niece?” Hyunjin sighed. 

They finally made it to the patch of grass where the house was supposed to be, and Hyunjin revealed it to them after ducking behind a random chunk of air. 

“Hyunjin!” Haseul cried.

“Unnie!” Yeojin gaped. “How did you do that?!” 

“I just ducked.” Hyunjin said, invisible and hidden behind the air. 

Haseul awkwardly ducked under the same chunk of air- and she was gone. She yelled in excitement, and kept ducking back and forth between the barrier. Yeojin followed suit, and the process really was just ducking under the invisible, incredibly convincing wall, and standing up on the other side.

On the other side, there were masses of rye, hills in the distance, a blue sky that was a bit different from that on the other side ( it was an unnatural sort of blue color ), and when Yeojin looked around at the sky, she came to find the sun was dimmer than the moon- which was blue, as Hyunjin had said before.

“There’s the house!” Haseul cried. “It’s so big!”

In the distance, there was a massive house, two stories tall and big enough to be considered a wealthy home. Yeojin had never been inside a house like this in her life. They went in, dropped off their suit cases and jackets ( it was a good temperature inside. Hyunjin said the temperature would always be like this, inside and out ), and explored the house. Yeojin excitedly jumped on the sofa, marveled at the bathrooms, passed out at the vast amounts of food in the fridge and junk food in the pantry, and after Haseul’s shrill scream of delight, went to discover that there was a pool in the backyard. Also, the backyard was enormous. Haseul jumped in, clothes on and everything, and Yeojin followed suit. Hyunjin also accompanied them, but did not like water as much as she thought. There was a grill in the backyard, so once they were done swimming, Haseul grilled sausages for them to eat. 

They went up stairs, and Yeojin was elated to discover that there was a TV and a computer in her room.

“You cannot connect to the internet.” Hyunjin said apologetically. Instead, Hyunjin had downloaded a good amount of offline games. And, there was a massive collection of movie and TV series DVDs, so Yeojin came to understand that they would never be too bored living here.

“Wow! This bed is so cushiony!” Haseul sighed, and fell back into her bed. Her room had the same set up of a television and a computer, but there were two giant bookshelves to keep Haseul company. She noticed it quickly, and hurriedly sprang up to sort through them.

“I bought out the bookstore.” Hyunjin commented. 

“Where do you get so much money?!” Haseul squawked.

“I bought stocks a couple of years ago.” Hyunjin said ominously.

The house was so incredible, the field was so grand, the sky was such a cobalt color and the moon was the purest form of blue that Yeojin had ever seen as night fell, that she almost forgot Hyunjin was leaving. The girls showered and switched out of their clothes, and as Haseul was helping Yeojin hang up some of her clothes, Hyunjin opened the door.

“I’m leaving now.” She said. She’d finally changed her clothes, after a month, and was now wearing an arrangement of a purple flowered dress, with white socks and black shoes.

“You look like Michael Jackson.” Haseul teased, and Yeojin laughed at the joke. Hyunjin did not understand, but that was expected.

“Where are you headed, Hyunjin?” Haseul asked instead, and went to hold one of Hyunjin’s hand.

“Somewhere far away.” Hyunjin said. “If I tell you, it could compromise my plan. But… I hope I won’t go too far.”

“What’s further than Europe?” Haseul smiled. 

“How long will you be gone?” Yeojin asked with a frown, leaning on Haseul.

“...It could take many years. I have no answer to this.” Hyunjin sighed, squeezing Haseul’s hand. “It all depends on how quickly Kim Lip and Jinsol act on this. It’s… Up to them now.”

“So we’re just relying blindly on them?” Haseul quipped, and Yeojin glanced up at her. There was a brief tension, but it dissolved quickly. “Nevermind. Nevermind, just…Take care of yourself, Hyunjin. Don’t get into weird things.”

“I’m thinking of buying an apartment.” Hyunjin stated. “I don’t mind anymore if Heejin comes to find me.”

“Care about yourself, Hyunjin.” Haseul shook her head. “You missed the point of ‘take care of yourself’! Don’t get sick, or die, or anything like that.”

“I cannot get sick.” Hyunjin frowned. “I doubt Heejin will kill me. All this time, I have only been lost and wandering to find you and Yeojin, and after that, I have only been lost and wandering to protect you and Yeojin.”

There was silence, and Haseul threw herself onto Hyunjin, hugging her tightly. She burst into tears. “Do you have to go?”

“I do.” Hyunjin hugged her back with ease, and settled her chin onto Haseul’s shoulder. Yeojin herself was crying too, unable to hold back now that Haseul had burst into tears. Even Hyunjin’s eyes were teary. “I have lived in many worlds, Haseul, but for these few years, you were everything that mattered to me. Perhaps… You were my world. Both you and Yeojin. Wherever I go, I know I must return to the both of you in the end.”

Haseul sobbed again.

Afterwards, Hyunjin kissed Yeojin’s cheek goodbye and hugged her, and Yeojin cried for a long time in her arms, kicking at her and hitting her with her fists. Yeojin hugged her tightly in the end, and cried even louder.  
Everything ended with Hyunjin standing at the door way. She stood and looked at the weeping Haseul and Yeojin, and then, a tear dripped from her left eye. 

“Even Hyunjin’s crying!” Haseul laughed through her tears.

Hyunjin smiled. Tears began to drip and stream from her eyes now. “Goodbye.” 

She shut the door, and just like that, the one year chapter of their lives had closed. Now, a new chapter began- with just Haseul and Yeojin, trapped and alone in their new, tiny world. 

For the most part, things returned to normal. Yves had said nothing on the matter of leaving Eden, and for the past week, hadn’t dared to look at Chuu. She followed Vivi around with her head bowed, as though she were a dog guilty of peeing where it wasn’t supposed to, following its owner apologetically. Gowon had thought of that analogy herself after reading a book on how to care for dogs. 

Gowon herself could not quite believe she suggested leaving Eden- But the moment she saw the butterfly’s wings being beaten in the rain, the words slipped out of her mouth. And for another strange reason, Gowon suddenly understood she could not tell Olivia Hye about wanting to leave Eden. In fact, for the most part, Gowon steered clear of Olivia, ignoring her initiations at conversation and attempts to hold Gowon’s hand. Chuu, who had grown hyper focused on her studies and always looked teary eyed, had no time to talk to Olivia, and Yves was totally absorbed in Vivi as of late, so Olivia…. sat by herself whenever they studied.

Gowon still was desperate to tell Vivi about Yves’ betrayal. In fact, she tossed and turned at night and stood in front of Vivi’s door for hours, wondering if she should confess to her. Her newfound loyalty to Vivi was something strange- perhaps it was because she knew the cruel intentions of Yves and Olivia? Or, perhaps it was because Vivi was the only beautiful thing Gowon had ever seen in her few years of life. She liked to think the latter was more accurate. Gowon had never seen pretty things in Eden- the butterflies were dead, the bunnies killed them selves after a while, the sky was always gray and wolves roamed the forest in search of pretty things to hunt, making sure there was nothing beautiful to enjoy. Vivi was like a breath of fresh air amongst the bleakness of Eden. Light pink hair, twinkling eyes and a soft smile, looking so innocent beside Yves while she was being introduced. Gowon had always liked Vivi, to make it simple.

Gowon watched Yves and Vivi with an upset look, and across the library, Yves was still feeling guilty.

“Did you eat?” Yves asked Vivi, hugging her waist as she picked out a book from the shelves. 

Yves had never kissed Chuu before she started to be interested in Vivi. Every time she kissed her, there’d be a churning in her stomach, and she’d puke her guts out in the nearest bathroom. Chuu would go looking for her, but Yves would already had run off to Vivi’s room, crawling beneath the blanket in fear of what she had done.

At the start, Yves didn’t care so much. She didn’t have any problems flirting with both Vivi and Chuu, and had no problems when she was holding Chuu’s waist just minutes before she went to bite on Vivi’s lip. But there was a certain night that Yves came to realize something.

“Look, Yves!” Vivi was on her balcony, as she liked to be closer to the three moons. She was in those usual floaty, romantic dresses she liked to wear. Tonight, it was pink, to match her color. Yves, like Gowon, had never seen anything like Vivi. Life had always been bleak in color, enormous trees hanging with black leaves, wolves clearing out anything pretty that they could possibly be able to see. Yves used to like the bleakness, before she had seen Vivi. Now, when she looked out the window, a deep sadness sank into her. The scenery looked nothing like her. She now preferred lighter colors and flowery things, and always looked longingly at the pictures in books that depicted massive castles with lush greenery, huge gardens and eternally blue skies. 

“What is it?” Yves got up from the sofa to accompany Vivi. Usually, she wouldn’t care about Vivi’s chatter or anything she had to show Yves- but lately, Yves liked to listen to her, and liked to see what she was seeing.

Yves followed to where Vivi was pointing, and looked around in confusion before spotting it. “A deer!” Yves gasped, and quickly leaned over the edge to get a closer look.

“Come on!” Vivi burst out, and started to climb over the balcony. “Let’s go see it!”

“Vivi, get down!” Yves grabbed her hand. “You’ll die!”

“Colors can die?” Vivi asked in surprise. She glanced around, still teetering on the railing, then spotted something. “Look! There’s vines on the side!”

There were indeed thick vines on the side of the castle.

“So?! You’ll fall! The vines can’t support any weight!” Yves insisted, and tugged gently at Vivi’s hand.

“Come on!” Vivi laughed, and wriggled free of Yves’ hold. She, with no fear, reached for the vine, and grabbed it securely. She was hanging from the second floor of the castle now. She looked to Yves with shining eyes. “The deer’s gonna leave if you don’t come now!”

Yves finally gave in, anxious at the thought of Vivi falling. These days, Yves would think anxiously about the resolve of Olivia’s plan- in it, Olivia said Vivi and Yves would have to break up at some point, and be apart. Yves… hated the idea. It made her queasy. She didn’t want to be without Vivi, much less think about it. So now, as they scaled down the side of the castle, she could only worry. In the end, they made it safely to the ground, but Yves began to worry too much, so she went down first and ordered Vivi to fall so that Yves could catch her.

“You caught me!” Vivi said in delight, arms around Yves’ neck.

“You thought I wouldn’t?” Yves asked her, eyes rounded. She kept steady, but her arms were shaking. 

“No!” Vivi smiled. “I knew you would.”

Yves was reluctant to let her down. She felt as though if she did, Vivi would be hurt somehow.

“There it is!” Vivi whispered, pointing to the deer. She herself wriggled out of Yves’ hold, and hurriedly approached the deer. 

“Vivi!” Yves called, anxious as she knew she’d be. “Vivi, don’t go so far!”

Realistically, Olivia allowed the girls to walk through the woods, but they could never walk past the woods. There was a border on the outskirt of the trees, and if they were to cross it, it’d be the worst betrayal to not only her, but also Heejin. They’d be deemed tainted, and cast away to Earth by Heejin herself. Anyways, Vivi was not even in the woods, barely near the trees. Yves still worried.

“Shh!” Vivi hushed, approaching the deer. The deer was not startled by Vivi. She stood perfectly still, eating the grass beneath her hooves. She stared directly at Yves as she ate, and for some reason, Yves grew unsettled under her gaze. She did not want Vivi near it, but what could she do?

Vivi reached out her hand, and the deer flinched. Cautiously, she sniffed Vivi’s hand, then, very slowly, she put her muzzle in Vivi’s hand. Vivi got closer, petting the deer now. She looked over her shoulder and grinned brightly at Yves.

“It likes me!” Vivi said, and the deer was not startled by the noise. It sniffed Vivi’s hand, then licked it carefully. Vivi laughed in delight.

Among the dark green grass and the gray sky, backed with the blackening trees, Vivi was a beam of light. Around her, the grass seemed greener, the trees looked alive, and even the sky seemed blue. 

“Vivi.” Yves called. Vivi waved her off, ignoring her to pet the deer.

“Vivi.” She called again.

Vivi looked back at her, curious as to Yves’ serious tone. She rose to her feet, and the deer stood steadily beside her.

“Come back.” Yves called softly.

Vivi smiled. Then, she laughed. She ran away from the deer, and Yves opened her arms for Vivi to hug her. Vivi jumped into them, and as she giggled, Yves lifted her up a bit, holding her close.

“What’s wrong with you?” Vivi laughed, squeezing Yves.

 _If you kept talking to that deer, you’d run away with it._ Yves thought. _You can’t ever leave me._

“...That deer looked like you.” Yves said instead. The deer was still there. It stared at Yves with beady black eyes, and Yves, upset with the deer, put her face into Vivi’s neck and turned around, making her way back to the front of the castle.

“Did it?!” Vivi gasped in delight. “Hmmm… I think you look like a swan, Yves.”

“Like a swan?” Yves echoed. Though her voice was soft, she didn’t smile. In fact, her eyes were tearing up.

“Mhm! And Chuu looks like a penguin.” Vivi went on.

“What does Olivia look like?” Yves pressed her face into Vivi’s neck.

“Olivia?” Vivi repeated the name thoughtfully. “She looks like a wolf.”

Yves had fallen in love with Vivi that night, and since then, she felt ill when she touched Chuu and naseous when she spoke to Olivia. More now than ever, she felt guilty for all the wrongs she’d done to Vivi. Gowon’s expressionless eyes made sure that Yves would never forget to be guilty- not for the rest of her eternal life.

Now, Yves and Vivi were in the library together. “Did you eat?” She’d just asked, recalling how she’d fallen in love with Vivi.

“No, not yet.” Vivi leaned back into Yves, and showed her a book. “It has a swan on the cover!”

“It looks like me.” Yves smiled, recalling what Vivi had said to her. 

“There should be a book about a deer and a swan.” Vivi said, flipping through the book as she leaned into Yves. Yves watched the pages flip by, her chin on Vivi’s shoulder.

“What would the book be about?” Yves asked.

“Maybe the little deer is lost, and she finds a swan…” Vivi said, and thought about what her book could be about. “Oh! And they fall in love! We should make it dramatic, shouldn’t we? How about the deer tries to learn how to swim, but the swan doesn’t want her to struggle, so the swan decides to live on the land with her… But she misses the water too much, so they have to be apart all the time!”

“I hate that story.” Yves pouted. “The swan should be with the deer forever, no matter what.”

Vivi scoffed, and kissed Yves’ cheek. “Then the story would be boring!”

“It’d be my favorite story. I’d read it all the time.” Yves shook her head. “Why doesn’t the swan build the deer a boat so that she can be on the water with her? What a selfish swan. They should find a way to be together.”

“What if the swan and the deer break up since it’s too difficult, then they remain as friends?” Vivi suggested.

“No!” Yves hated this idea too. “What’s with you? We should just be together! We’re not like the swan and the deer!”

“Of course _we’ll_ be together.” Vivi said, as though it were obvious. “Oh, we could make the story like ours!”

“Our story isn’t over.” Yves insisted. “Stop thinking about this. You’re making me sad.”

Vivi laughed again, and kissed Yves another time. “Okay, okay! You’re fussy…”

“Yves?”

Vivi and Yves both looked up, and found Olivia standing across the room, dressed in the usual attire of a white button up, suspenders and a plaid skirt. She looked upset.

“Can you come with me for a little?” Olivia asked.

Vivi looked at Yves questioningly, and Yves shook her head. She put a kiss on Vivi’s cheek, “I’ll be right back.”

Olivia walked with Yves up to her room, and Olivia shut the door carefully.

“What are you doing?” Olivia demanded.

“What do you mean?” Yves asked innocently. She knew exactly what she was doing.

“I don’t know, ruining the plan?” Olivia spat. “You know Vivi is crucial, but you know Chuu is too. You’re supposed to be cold with Vivi. Just nice enough to keep her in love.”

“I don’t want to be cold with her…” Yves said under her breath.

“What?” Olivia said.

“I don’t wanna be cold… to Vivi..” Yves said softly, a bit louder this time.

“You fell in love?” Olivia sighed.

“What?”

“You fell in love with her.” Olivia put her face in her hands. “Fucking ruining everything. Never mind. Get Vivi to see you with Chuu. I’ll do it instead.”

“No!” Yves shouted. “I-I mean-,”

“No?” Olivia narrowed her eyes. Then, she laughed. “Why not? You like her that much?”

“You can’t… Get in the way. She’s mine.” Yves said, but it didn’t sound as aggressive as Yves meant it to be. 

“Oh yeah? She’s yours? She’s yours even though she won’t shut her fucking mouth about those fuck ass colors?” Olivia scoffed. “Don’t you think, Yves? She doesn’t give a shit about you. She’s one of _them._ None of them give a damn about us, Yves. Don’t you remember how they left me?”

She knew the story by heart. Olivia was born out of Heejin’s shadow, created from the darkness within Heejin rather than the beauty of colors. When Heejin discovered her, she cast her to the depths of the universe- unaware she’d sent Olivia to the world she’d built for her Angel, Vivi. The colors of Eden had the same past. That’s what Olivia told them, at least. No one but Olivia remembered Creation.

“You want Vivi to be safe, right?” Olivia insisted. “If those colors get a hold of her, they’ll kill her. They’ll destroy her very essence and wipe it from this universe and go on some spewl about how it’s because she’s tainted with fucking evil. Get it, Yves? If we don’t do this, she’ll die.”

“She loves me.” Yves said, trying to be firm. “Vivi loves me. She’ll follow me no matter what. Don’t… Don’t get in between us.”

“Fine. I won't.” Olivia groaned, rubbing her neck as though she were in pain. “Don’t fuck this up, Yves. Don’t believe anything she says either. It’s all shit… If she gets in the way just a little, the entire plan is ruined. Actually, I’ll ruin her in front of you if she fucks up the plan.”

“Don’t make threats at her.” Yves said, voice trembling. “...I told you she was mine.”

“How do you say all this tough shit but you can’t act like it for shit?” Olivia laughed.

Yves, for a moment, was fueled with the courage Olivia had been taunting her with. Yves puffed up her chest, and stared her in the eye. “She’s mine. Don’t say stupid shit about her in front of me.”

“That’s better.” Olivia grinned, narrow eyes sly as ever. Yves started to feel sick, unable to keep her chest puffed for much longer. “Go back and do shit according to plan. We’re done here.”

As Olivia walked away, Yves shouted- “Would Gowon be fine when we reveal the truth?”

Olivia froze. “Gowon…?”

“Why would she believe us?” Yves went on, heart racing. “She likes Vivi too. She believes that the Colors on Middle Earth are doing what’s best for everyone. We haven’t done anything regarding her.”

“Shut up. Just because I make some empty threats about Vivi, you’re bringing up Gowon? Fuck you. Fuck off.” Olivia retaliated furiously.

“It seems like you’re the one fucking up the plan.” Yves accused. 

Olivia whirled around, eyes blazing. “Watch your mouth, bitch! I’ll go down there and tell everyone what you’re scheming!”

“Seems pretty against the plan to me.” Yves muttered. 

“Go fuck yourself.” Olivia stormed out, and slammed the door behind her. 

Afterwards, Yves ran to the balcony and vomited over it until nothing but water came out. She fell weakly to the floor, and put her head in her knees. 

The “plan” was nothing to Yves. It meant nothing to Yves. Olivia, enraged with her world, had angrily told Yves that they’d turn Vivi against the Colors in revenge for casting Olivia (and the rest of the girls) into Eden, and slaughter the Colors in some elaborate scheme- then, only then, would there be peace and balance in the world. They’d use and manipulate Vivi when she came to Eden, gain information from her, and plot out the deaths of the Colors of the cosmos. Lately, Olivia had been digressing more into the ways they’d kill the colors as Yves relayed more information she was receiving from Vivi- and lately, Yves was starting to lie. She told Olivia that Vivi had told her nothing new about the Colors as of late, and even kept it quiet that there were more colors than the Primaries and those on Eden. 

Olivia had, though, known that Jinsol and Kim Lip were coming to see Vivi all those months ago- and in an effort to keep it secret, Olivia tampered with the three moons in a desperate effort to connect to them. Such an evil source connecting with the satellites of the moon’s universe was impossible for the moon to accept. Yves did not keep that secret from her, because she had not fallen in love with Vivi yet. 

“Yves?”

Yves looked up. Gowon was calling for her, somewhere far away.

“Yves?” Gowon called again, and Yves guessed she was near the door.

“I’m in here.” She called hoarsely, voice raspy from the puke. Gowon opened the door, and peered inside.

“Where’s Olivia?” Gowon asked.

“Don’t know.” Yves laughed, and wiped the vomit from her mouth.

“What happened to you?” Gowon asked, teeth gritted as she entered the room. She walked to Yves, and crouched down beside her.

“...Nothing. Is Vivi downstairs?” Yves asked.

“Still reading that swan book.” Gowon laughed.

“Let’s go see her.” Yves grunted, pushing herself up, but she was still weak. Despite her queasiness, she didn’t like the idea of Olivia and Chuu being alone together with Vivi. 

“Be careful.” Gowon said, and stood up quickly to help steady Yves. 

“Gowon…” Yves mumbled, looking at her. “Did you mean it? Did you mean it when you said we should leave Eden?”

“...I used to really like Eden. I thought it was the best thing in the world that we were barricaded in here, away from the rest of the world.” Gowon began, telling a story as Yves leaned on her in the middle of Olivia Hye’s balcony. “But one day, I saw you and Chuu together. You guys… Kept chasing after this butterfly. It had really big wings, so blue and pretty. I didn’t even like to leave the castle back then, remember? But I followed you guys from afar that day, right until you guys were at the border. I remember… You leaned over the line, and picked an apple from the tree. The apple looked so red and looked so good when you ate it, that I thought about it all week. I kept eating apples, thinking about how terrible the ones growing in the garden taste, all dark and tasteless. I kept thinking… about the apple you ate, from a tree that was growing across the barrier. So I’ve honestly always thought about leaving. And when Vivi came and told me about the Middle Earth and the cosmos, I could only think about leaving for the longest time. And… You know how Vivi will always talk about Creation, right? And how she remembers every detail? Yves, I remember nothing from Creation. Not a single thing. So why does unnie remember it so vividly? How can she remember everything she said to Heejin that day, and remember how Heejin looked, and how Heejin felt? Why… Can’t we remember Heejin?”

“Gowon, what are you saying?” Yves frowned.

“...I don’t know either.” Gowon shook her head. “I just know that being inside of Eden has something to do with it.” 

She then looked up at Yves, “I thought you didn’t want to leave Eden?”

Yves looked to the ground, and bit the inside of her cheek. “...We don’t have to be with the Colors when we leave Eden, right? They’ll kill Vivi if they know she’s been tainted. I think… Vivi won’t be safe with Olivia breathing down her neck. I think it’s safer for her… if we leave.”

“You’ll do all that for Vivi unnie?” Gowon scoffed. Then, she laughed. “Everything was for unnie? You thought if you kept on with Olivia’s plan, she’d be safe because the Colors wouldn’t kill her? And now… that Olivia seems unsafe, you want to leave so Vivi unnie can feel safe?”

“She’s gorgeous, Gowon.” Yves closed her eyes, head pounding in response to the intense vomiting now. “She’s so gorgeous.” 

“Just last week you were convinced Vivi would follow you everywhere.” Gowon teased. “What changed?”

“I don’t know.” Yves grumbled, hanging her head. “It’s better if I follow her everywhere. I don’t care anymore about this colors and cosmos shit. I just want to be with her. I just want her to be happy.” 

Hyunjin opened the blinds. It was raining outside. She leaned over her table, face hovering close to the window in order to watch the rain patter onto her window.

Her stomach pressed against the edge of the table. Usually, she’d feel unbothered, but for a brief moment, she felt uncomfortable. She left the blinds open, and stepped away from the table, giving a withering look to the table.

She was not far from her original location; South Korea and Japan were as close as could be. She wasn’t on the run from Heejin- in fact, Hyunjin didn’t mind being found by Heejin, she came to discover. She distanced herself as much as she could from Haseul and Yeojin instead, putting eight thousand and five hundred eighty eight kilometers between them. The idea was to keep Haseul and Yeojin as safe as possible. It would be more difficult to find them, and even more difficult to find them without Hyunjin hanging around them.

She just needed to keep them safe. 

Hyunjin didn’t often leave her apartment. It was small, and cramped, full of cats and full of food bowls for Hyunjin’s little companions. Hyunjin never ate before- she’d only eaten with Haseul and Yeojin. On the rare occasions she went out to buy cat food, she’d pick up some bread and a few bananas, because they looked like her.

Today was one of the rare days Hyunjin wandered out of the apartment. She had seen the rain multiple times before, but she’d always enjoyed to be out with it. Today, she changed her clothes, grabbed her umbrella, and walked out of her apartment. Even as she walked down the street, cats followed, racing ahead or winding around her feet. 

“Hyunjin!”

Hyunjin looked up. From the window, a boy was calling for her. This boy was annoying- he constantly bothered Hyunjin whenever she walked down the street, and always tried to follow her home. Once, he kept following her, so Hyunjin stood completely still in place for thirty minutes, and the boy grew awkward and ran off.

“Hello.” Hyunjin greeted, and immediately began walking again.

“Hyunjin, wait for me!” The guy urged. “I have to go to the store too!”

“I am going to visit the cemetery.” Hyunjin said, and kept walking. The boy called for her until Hyunjin was far enough to not be able to hear him, and she felt at peace when she thought he’d given up.

“Hyunjin!”

Hyunjin looked over her shoulder in terror. The boy! She whirled around and walked faster. 

“Hyunjin, wait up!”

Finally, the boy caught up with her. Hyunjin felt like jumping off the sidewalk and in front of a car. 

“Hyunjin, you’re going to the store, right? That’s all you go to do.” The boy, Mamoru, grinned. Mamoru meant “to guard”, but he was nothing close to being as cool as a guardian. He was annoying, constantly bothering Hyunjin, and always rambled about his classes and showing off about which college he went to. It was apparently very prestigious. Hyunjin didn’t know what was so good about education, nor what was good about prestige in education. Shouldn’t every one be learning at the same level? Did prestige mean the education was better? Hyunjin had many questions for Mamoru, but she didn’t care to ask them. 

“These cats are always following you, aren’t they?” Mamoru went on. He bent down to pick up a cat. “How cute! Look!”

Hyunjin smiled at the cat.

“Do you like the rain, noona?” Mamoru was a few years younger than Hyunjin. She only knew this because of how much he spoke to her. In reality, everyone on earth was younger than Hyunjin, but she’d made up a random age at meeting Mamoru and he animatedly told her that she was twenty one. Hyunjin forgot what age she’d told him she was. To add onto it, Mamoru was Japanese. These honorifics had no meaning to him- he used it because he thought it would be funny to use it on Hyunjin.

Hyunjin continued to ignore him. Mamoru didn’t care about being ignored or being spoken to- it was all the same to him. He blabbered to her all the way to the store, asked her what school she went to for college as Hyunjin picked out a bag of food for the cats and rambled on about how no girls were as pretty as Hyunjin in his class as she checked out, and talked more about the rain as Hyunjin left the store.

“By the way, where in Korea are you from?” Mamoru said. “Are all Koreans strong like you?”

“I am not Korean.” Hyunjin denied. Actually, she was from the cosmos. 

“Really?! Are you from North Korea?” Mamoru crossed his arms.

“No. I am from Seoul.” Hyunjin sighed. Lying made her weary. She’d have to remember all the lies and tell them again so she wouldn’t seem suspicious.

“I knew it! Your last name is Kim, right?” Mamoru went on.

Hyunjin sighed, and looked up. It looked like it wouldn’t be clearing up any time soon.

“Hyunjin, why did you move to Japan? Did you come to study? Or was life bad in Korea? I hear it sucks there.” Mamoru went on.

“ _Mamoru_.” Hyunjin said.

“What?” He asked.

“To protect.” Hyunjin told him, but she was sure he didn’t understand. She’d given him an indirect explanation about why she’d left Korea. There was no more need to elaborate.

“Goodbye.” Hyunjin bid him, and immediately bee lined to her apartment complex.

“Hyunjin! Should I carry the bag for you?” Mamoru called, but Hyunjin shut door before he could finish.

Hyunjin, in the few weeks she’d been living in Japan, discovered radios played music. Hyunjin was aware that people used phones and those played music- Haseul was always playing music on her phone, texting her family and friends and so on, but she never knew other things played music.

She bought a radio not long ago, and it sat on the floor next to Hyunjin’s table. She tampered with it everyday, crouching with her knees to her chest and listened to music until she got bored of it or her knees began to ache. Music was nice- she liked it. Sometimes it made her feel happy, or sad, or nothing at all. She didn’t like the songs that made her feel nothing. Today, there were a few songs that made her smile. There were never many songs that were sad, but when Hyunjin listened to them, she’d stare out of the window and wonder about Haseul and Yeojin.

On her table, an enormous array of scrambled paper were laid out, written in messy words. Half of them were tear stained. Hyunjin wrote the letters often and with emotion, but came to discover she did not know how to send the letters to Haseul and Yeojin. She’d finish the last sentences of the letter, and she’d let her forehead fall onto the papers and cry. She’d write these letters after listening to sad songs. 

Hyunjin turned off the radio for today. She tore open the bag of cat food, and poured some food for the cats. Today, there were only four or five cats, but on Fridays, there were fifteen cats scratching at her sofa and sleeping on top of her fridge and letters. Hyunjin liked the cats. They didn’t feel much, like Hyunjin, and didn’t talk much, like Hyunjin. They were good friends. 

She looked up from petting the cats as they ate, and went back to staring at the window. The rain was harsh, only worsening. Hyunjin felt a bit relieved- in that split in the universe where Hyunjin had hidden Haseul and Yeojin, they were safe. There would never be a sad day that the poor weather could worsen.

“Ah..” Hyunjin looked down at her thigh, then wiped her eyes. There were tear drops on her leg. “How annoying.”

A few weeks later, Hyunjin was ready to leave for the store again. It was a clear day, and the cats were excited to follow Hyunjin to the store today. But, she found something peculiar about her usual routine. Just outside of her door, there was a bracelet made of colorful plastic beads. She bent down and picked it up. There was a note beneath it; 

_Meet me in front of my window tonight._  
_-Mamoru_

Hyunjin tucked the bracelet into the pocket of the skirt, and left the note on the floor. She was curious now- she decided, as she picked out her usual bag of cat food, she’d go see what was so important.

“You came!”

Hyunjin frowned.

“I thought you wouldn’t.” Mamoru said, his eyes rounding with affection. Hyunjin looked up at the sky. It was purple tonight. 

“What did you need?” Hyunjin sighed, scratching her neck.

“Well... First, do you wanna come up?” Mamoru looked at Hyunjin hopefully. 

Hyunjin followed him up to his apartment. It was surprisingly... empty. There was a sofa, but there were no tables, and the kitchen seemed to be out of order. The bathroom door was shut. Hyunjin briefly wondered if Mamoru even lived here.

“Sit down!” Mamoru said. Then, he seemed to realize. “Oh, do you want, um, water?”

“I don’t drink water.” Hyunjin said briefly.

“I thought so.” Mamoru laughed. “You don’t drink anything. I wonder how your skin is so nice. Ah, sit down!”

Hyunjin sat, and Mamoru sat beside her. Hyunjin scooted away from him.

“Why did you call me here?” Hyunjin asked.

“Oh... Well...” Mamoru scratched his cheek. “You know how there’s been all these disasters and weird things happening in Japan lately, right?”

“Yes.” There was a brief drought last week, and the water returned immediately. Also, supermarkets were beginning to suffer from targeted earthquakes. And, like Korea, government officials were urging Japanese people to neuter and spay their cats, because the population of cats was half the population of Japan once again. 

“My parents want me to study abroad for now.” Mamoru finally spat it out. 

“Ah.” Hyunjin hummed, and scratched her arm. 

“What? You don’t care?” Mamoru cried.

“Hm? Oh. Where are you going?” Hyunjin asked automatically.

“You won’t care even if I tell you.” Mamoru huffed.

“So why bother to tell me?” Hyunjin deadpanned. 

“...You do care, right?” Mamoru glanced at her. “I’ve noticed that about you. You act all indifferent to the cats, but I’ve seen how you look at them. And sometimes, when you come out for the groceries, you have a really sad look in your eyes and you’ll actually talk to me. I think you do feel a lot. I think... Your exterior doesn’t match your interior.”

“...Thank you.” Hyunjin said slowly. “I didn’t know you noticed that much about me.”

“I guess you don’t know that I’m into you.” Mamoru said sheepishly. 

“When are you leaving?” Hyunjin asked instead.

“Tomorrow.” Mamoru said. “Hyunjin, will you be lonely if I leave?”

“Lonely? I’m never lonely.” Hyunjin rejected the idea, unsure of why Mamoru was asking in the first place. 

“I think you’d be pretty lonely. You don’t have any family or friends, right?” Mamoru guessed, and Hyunjin side eyed him. 

“They are not in Japan.” Hyunjin muttered.

“All in Korea, aren’t they?” Mamoru chuckled. “Call me if you feel lonely.”

“I don’t have a phone.” Hyunjin said.

“Then I’ll send you letters!” Mamoru said brightly. “That way, you’ll never get lonely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I THINK THIS MIGJT BE THE LAST OF HYUNJIN’S BIG PARTS IN THE STORY 💔 LIFE IS SO AWFUL SHE IS MY FAVORITE PART OF MY THEORY  
> anyways. HOPE YOU ENJOYED!!! JHATSOTU might be on a tiny little week long break after this since I have another fan fic to update, but of course I’ll keep writing and updating! The good part of my theory is coming mwahahaha  
> (Also, just for conversation, my favorite part of the story is what’s going on in Eden!! I’m always so excited to write it BWHSIWSJW )


	6. Chapter 6

“I’m going to the cosmos to look for Heejin.”

“Why don’t I come with you?”

“I don’t think that’s the best idea. What if Pink arrives and no one greets her? She will be lost here.”

“I hadn’t thought of that. Will you be safe?”

“I’ll be alright.”

“And what about Orange? She’s been sent to Earth, right?”

“Of course. If something went wrong, then I will personally make sure to correct things.”

“Alright. I’ll take care of the fields.”

“And the house! Don’t let it get dirty!”

Just a year ago, Kim Lip was saying her goodbyes to Jinsol as they sat on the rocking chairs of their porch, watching the vibrant sunset. She’d hugged Jinsol goodbye, and Jinsol stood up and watched her run into the dry fields, reminiscing as Kim Lip began her connection to the moon. Kim Lip waved blindly to Jinsol a final time, and in a flash, she was gone.

Kim Lip, in reality, had lied to Jinsol. Orange was not on Earth. She did not even have a vessel. Kim Lip had put her color to sleep, and hidden her away on a distant moon. Tonight, Kim Lip was determined to sneak Orange back to Earth, somewhere safer than where Heejin wanted her to be, before anything worse could happen. She arrived on her promised moon, and searched the rocks and sand before finally finding where she had hidden her creation. Carefully, she reached her wrists into the cranny of the rocks, and pulled out Orange.

“Wake up!” Kim Lip whispered to her. “Wake up, we have to go!”

Orange stirred, her color brightening. Kim Lip teared up. Her color was impossibly beautiful- vibrant and full of life, so much different from Kim Lip or Hyunjin’s, but the perfect combination of their colors at the same time. She didn’t want to let her go… But isn’t this what was best?

“Red?” Orange said curiously.

“Yes!” Kim Lip wiped her tears on her shoulder. “Yes, it’s me! Orange, listen to me very carefully. I’m going to take you to Earth, and put you in a vessel. Then, you must hide your color as best as you possibly can and try to lead a normal… Normal life. Do you understand me”

It was unsafe for Orange to live as a color, Kim Lip knew. As the universe would grow more imbalanced and unstable, the other Colors would try and find Orange, and rope her into the shattered universe of the moon. Kim Lip didn’t want that. She didn’t want to be miserable over the loss of a Color again, either by banishment, evil or departure. She wanted… To know Orange would live an alright life, far away from the frightening cracks and shatters of the universe. She wanted to watch over her from afar, taking care of her in her own, safe way.

“That is not Heejin’s wish.” Orange refused.

“Enough with Heejin’s wish! Do not bring it up again!” Kim Lip snapped, tears dripping from her eyes. “You must live! When your mortal vessel has died, you can return, but until then, I need you to be safe!”

“But… I’m meant to watch over Green and Yellow!” Orange protested.

“No!” Kim Lip refused sharply. “No! You.. You will keep to yourself, and stay away from the colors!”

Kim Lip’s demands were easy enough. Orange’s spirit was already weak- in her belonging to her new vessel, she would become closer to the vessel’s personality and mind than her own. Upon her vessel’s death, Orange would no longer be orange, her own memories and traits would be forged with that of her vessel’s.

“Red, I don’t want to carry out your wishes. I want to carry out those of Heejin’s.” Orange refused again.

Kim Lip’s eyes watered again, and she frowned angrily. “Fine! You want to upset me? Then do whatever you’d like!”

“I’m sorry…” Orange quickly apologized. “Would you be happy if I carried out your wishes?”

“When things are safe again, I’ll let you do whatever you want. Just… Not now.” Kim Lip sniffled. 

“But when things are safe, I will not need to watch over Green and Yellow!” Orange argued.

Defying Heejin’s wish was a sin. Hiding away Orange and not carrying out Heejin’s order earlier was a sin. Taking Orange to Earth herself and finding her a vessel herself was a sin. Everything was a sin- even what Kim Lip was doing now was a sin. So why shouldn’t she push a little further? They were all ruined anyways.

“It doesn’t matter.” Kim Lip finally resolved, voice trembling. “None of it matters now. Heejin’s not here. She’s ran off. So.. So just listen to me, okay?”

“...Okay.” Orange finally agreed, and Kim Lip let out a sigh of relief. 

On Earth, Kim Lip washed up on the cold shores of Seoul with Orange tucked away into her hands. She dragged herself out of the freezing water until her feet touched the hard, clumping sand.

“Have we arrived?” Orange asked in a whisper.

“Quiet!” Kim Lip hushed, water dripping from her clothes. Kim Lip looked up to the skies, and realized it was dawn. The gray colors swirled as the sun was birthed, the crisp air making for a true dawn. 

“Are we on Earth?” Orange was not the quiet type.

“Yes.” Kim Lip murmured. “You must be quiet. Humans are not acquainted with Colors in their true form.”

Orange was quiet besides a few remarks as they entered the city, and Kim Lip came to find that humans did not react well to her. She didn’t know why. Did they not like blonde hair? That was impossible. Kim Lip had seen three people with blonde hair reacting negatively. Kim Lip looked down at her self, and wondered what could possibly be wrong. Were they upset about Kim Lip being wet? This made no sense either.

“Red, is there an issue?” Orange whispered loudly.

“Hush now.” Kim Lip demanded. She walked aimlessly, looking for any sort of vessel. She wasn’t sure how Heejin had found their vessels in the first place- She had to kill the humans first, right? No… Orange wouldn’t be able to sustain herself in a vessel without the human mind. Kim Lip let out a quiet sigh. Why had Heejin demanded the creation of Orange without Yellow? 

“Red! I think there are vessels in there! To your right!” Orange whispered urgently. Kim Lip turned around, and right across from her, there was something called an “orphanage”. 

“Do people live in there?” Kim Lip said thoughtfully.

“Um, excuse me?”

Kim Lip turned around again, and found that a strange woman was talking to her.

“Who are you?” Kim Lip frowned at the woman.

“Um… Your shirt is showing your nipples.” The woman told her quietly. Kim Lip looked down at where the woman was looking, and discovered the things on her breasts were, in fact, sticking out. Kim Lip scratched her chin, and looked back at the woman.

“Yes.”

The woman blinked at her, wide eyed. Kim Lip didn’t see what the issue was.

“What is an orphanage?” Kim Lip asked instead.

“An- An _orphanage_?” The lady repeated.

“It seems I’ve pronounced it wrong.” Kim Lip nodded. “Or-pha-nage. Orphanage.”

“Um… That’s where children without parents stay.” The lady told her.

“Children without parents?” Kim Lip perked up. “What are parents? Creators?”

“I have to go.” The lady said abruptly, and ran away from Kim Lip. Kim Lip watched her go, and returned her attention to the orphanage.

“Children… Easy vessels.”

Soon, Kim Lip was climbing up the side of the orphanage, trying to find an entrance. Kim Lip was kicked out after trying to enter through the door, so it seemed that was not a possibility. 

“What are we doing?!” Orange kept crying.

“Finding you a vessel!” Kim Lip grunted, and finally found a ledge to hold onto. She hoisted herself up, and came face to face with a window. It looked like the ones at their house in the middle earth. Kim Lip smiled at the similarity, distracted suddenly.

“Look!” Orange was peeking through Kim Lip’s fingers. “There’s so many vessels.”

Kim Lip peered inside, and agreed with Orange. There were many vessels, lifeless on top of beds. No, not lifeless- asleep! Kim Lip grinned at the realization, and tried to get the window open. She realized she couldn’t for some reason, so she rubbed her elbow and broke the window. The glass shattered onto the ground, and the vessels awoke in terror.

“Hello.” Kim Lip greeted once she jumped in from the window. The little girls screamed, and ran away, clamoring at the door in an attempt to escape. They all piled out, still screaming. Kim Lip scratched her head, and looked around for a spare vessel. 

“There’s a girl sleeping!” Orange pointed out, and Kim Lip too noticed the girl on the bed. Kim Lip made her way over, and crouched down so that she was level with the girl.

“Wake up.” Kim Lip whispered. She glanced down at Orange, and held her up to the girl’s face.

“Use her as your vessel. Be safe, okay? If anything happens, come straight back out.” Kim Lip ordered. 

“Will you still be here?” Orange asked quietly.

“...Of course.” Kim Lip sighed. “Of course I will. Now go in, and don’t come back out.” 

Her words were contradictory, but Kim Lip wasn’t really thinking about that. She waited as Orange fell away from her hands, watching as the color slowly phased into her new vessel. Kim Lip nodded firmly, and slowly got up, wanting to get away as quickly as possible.

“...Am I getting adopted?”

Kim Lip froze in her tracks. Damn it! She was so close to escaping!

“Are you adopting me?!” 

Kim Lip turned around. Orange’s vessel was beaming at Kim Lip, looking overjoyed. She quickly jumped out of her bed, and reached beneath her bed for something. She pulled out what looked like a container. 

“Thank you for adopting me!” The vessel said, and she was quite loud. Kim Lip scratched her head. What was adoption? “I’ve been so excited to get out of here! I was planning to run away today, but here you are!”

The vessel ran to Kim Lip and grabbed her hand. “Let’s go!”

“Um… We have to leave through the window.” Kim Lip pointed to the broken window.

“The window?! Why?!” The girl raised her eyebrows. Then, she noticed the glass shards scattering the floor and Kim Lip’s arm covered in blood.

“I am not allowed downstairs.” Kim Lip told her. “Let’s leave, quickly.”

“Are you on the run from the cops?”

They successfully climbed down the window, with a lot of screaming from the girl and Kim Lip holding her and her suit case.

“What are cops?” Kim Lip asked as they walked through the alleyways. The girl was still holding her hand, suitcase knocking on the floor behind her.

“They’re these annoying people that arrest you if you commit crimes.” Yeojin said, kicking a rock beneath her shoe. “Do you even have a house?”

“House?” Kim Lip blinked. “...I own one. But it’s far away. Is there any where we can stay tonight?”

“Mmm, maybe a hotel?” Yeojin suggested.

“Hotel… What is a hotel?” Kim Lip came to understand she had much to learn about Earth.

“It’s like a temporary house. But you have to pay for it. I’m… hoping you have money?”

Luckily, Yeojin informed Kim Lip of where to find money. At a bank. Kim Lip told Yeojin to sit and wait for her at the entrance, and Yeojin gave her a suspicious look before agreeing. Kim Lip tried to ask the people that ran the bank for money, but they kept going on about bank accounts and credit. Kim Lip was getting frustrated- she had just discovered what money was today! Kim Lip consulted Yeojin again, who explained that they kept the money in a safe in the back of the bank- “But… You do have a bank account, right?”

They did not let Kim Lip walk into the back the first time, and almost called security to escort her out. “What is security?” She asked, brow twitching. Finally, she decided that she could morph out of her vessel for a moment in order to sneak into the back and rob the money.

“Will you wait here?” Kim Lip asked as she returned to Yeojin, sitting beside her. “I’m going to close my eyes.”

“What for? Did you get any money?” Yeojin asked, but Kim Lip was already phasing out of her vessel. Yeojin kept chattering to her, even as Kim Lip began to vibrate and tremble. Yeojin only seemed shocked when a brilliant flash of red exploded from Kim Lip’s vessel- Kim Lip was free! Yeojin tried to wake up Kim Lip as a result, and the bank-people all looked startled by the bright flash. While they were distracted, Kim Lip made her way to the back, phased the money into herself, and returned to her vessel with another brilliant flash. The lights inside the bank flickered, electricity dimming as Kim Lip’s vessel was taken over again. 

“Shall we go?” Kim Lip said to Yeojin as she awoke, opening her eyes as the moon’s phases reflected in them until they became a slit on the bottom of her iris. Kim Lip blinked, and it was gone.

“What the hell was that?!” Yeojin shrieked.

Kim Lip argued with the hotel-person and finally got her and Yeojin a room. 

“Jeez!” Yeojin huffed. “It’s like you’re an alien!”

“What is an alien?” Kim Lip asked, toeing off her shoes.

“Some one from space. You don’t even know what an alien is?” Yeojin rolled her eyes.

“Alien… I am an alien.” Kim Lip agreed.

Yeojin went on to blabber angrily, and Kim Lip listened to her absently. She was thinking about what would happen to Yeojin now. Orange was completely dormant- nothing of her behavior was apparent in Yeojin. Not even Orange’s color was shining beneath her skin. Yeojin seemed helpless too, like a newly created color unsure of the world. But she was even _more_ helpless than a recently birthed color. Kim Lip couldn’t leave her in this hotel with a huge stack of money. She had to figure something out before it was too late. More than anything, Kim Lip had to hide Yeojin from the other colors if she did not want her to be dragged into the chaotic mess on the horizon- but again, Yeojin seemed to helpless to hide on her own.

“I’m gonna take a shower!” Yeojin huffed, and stormed away to the hotel’s bathroom.

Kim Lip watched her go, then let out a heavy sigh. There was too much to think about.

Kim Lip showered after Yeojin’s insisting of her to do so, and the two laid on their one-bed together.

“Why didn’t you ask for two beds?” Yeojin muttered.

“It’s fine to sleep like this.” Kim Lip told her simply, staring at the ceiling.

“So… You’re like my mom?” Yeojin went on.

“Your mom? Your creator?” Kim Lip echoed. “Yes, I created you. Yeojin, do you remember Heejin and Jinsoul? Pink and blue?”

“Heejin and Jinsoul?” Yeojin clicked her tongue. “What are you talking about? How would I remember anything if we just met today?”

“...Yeojin, can you see me?”

Kim Lip lifted up her hand for the both of them to see. Kim Lip could see it clearly- the prominent glow of red beneath her skin, strengthening as the night settled.

“What are you talking about? Of course I can see you.” Yeojin scoffed. “Why are you showing me your hand though? Can you not see your hand or something?”

Kim Lip sighed. “Nevermind.”

“...What’s your name?” Yeojin asked after a while.

“Kim Lip.” Kim Lip replied.

“That’s a weird name.” Yeojin mumbled. “I don’t really feel like I should call you mom… Should I just call you unnie?”

“Unnie? What is that?”

“What?! Are you even Korean?!” Yeojin cried. “Unnie! You know! A girl who’s older than you?”

“Ah… Sure, you can call me unnie.” Kim Lip agreed. “You don’t want to just call me Kim Lip?”

“No, I’d feel weird.” Yeojin shook her head. “Unnie, can I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead.” Kim Lip allowed, but Yeojin hesitated for a moment.

“...Why did you adopt me?”

“Adopt you?” Kim Lip blinked. _Is she asking why I took her away?_ “You were just… Uh, you were just a good vessel. A good human.”

“...Pfft.” Yeojin laughed. “Good vessel? Jeez, you’re weird! How’d you know I was a good human anyways? Do they have a file on all my good deeds?”

“I just assumed when I looked at you.” Kim Lip shrugged. “I think I guessed correctly.”

Yeojin’s laughter slowed. Kim Lip glanced at her curiously, unsure of why she had grown so quiet. Yeojin flung her arms around Kim Lip, and put her face into Kim Lip’s arm.

“Thank you…” Yeojin sniffled. “Thank you so much. It was really hard in there, you know? I don’t care that you’re super weird. I… I’m just really glad you picked me.”

Kim Lip, later that night when she was sure Yeojin was asleep, decided it was time to inspect her and see if Orange really was dormant. She climbed out of the bed, opened the curtains so the moonlight shone through, and she sat beside Yeojin’s sleeping figure. Carefully, she picked up Yeojin’s small hand and held it to the moon.

Nothing showed. There was no orange glow- just the pale coloring of Yeojin’s skin. Kim Lip sighed quietly. She put down Yeojin’s hand, and cradled her head instead. Equally as careful, Kim Lip held open Yeojin’s eye, and came to find nothing but the black color of her iris. Kim Lip wasn’t sure what she was expecting- only Kim Lip and Jinsoul could show proof of their Colors through their eyes.

Kim Lip picked up Yeojin’s hand again, and held it tightly in hers. Kim Lip gazed at the moon through the window, and felt her eye flicker as she called for a connection with the satellite. She closed her eyes, despite them moving and darting around, and pressed her head to Yeojin’s hand. She stayed like that for hours, maintaining an unsteady connection with the moon and attempting to transfer its energy to Yeojin. But even after hours of doing so, Kim Lip could not prevail. There was no faint glow and no change. Orange… was gone.

Kim Lip and Yeojin spent a month together in that hotel room, easily sustaining thanks to all the money Kim Lip had taken. It was getting more and more dangerous to keep staying here, Kim Lip knew. After she discovered the discolorations of the usually black sky, which constantly flickered between red and yellow, she knew disaster would strike soon. She felt the uneven energy of the universe throughout the night, unable to sleep with the eerie feeling of the imbalance. Beyond this, Kim Lip sensed the presence of other colors around- Somewhere, though not too close, Green and Yellow were awake and wandering. Many times, Kim Lip contemplated getting closer to them, just to have a glimpse. She’d never seen green before, and missed Hyunjin to the point she felt sick whenever she thought long about her. She just wanted to look. Besides, they wouldn’t be able to feel Orange’s spiritual energy anyways, right? They wouldn’t harm Orange. Kim Lip could just tell them that she wanted Orange to stay out of everything entirely until balance and peace could be restored.

But, then again, Green and Yellow would want to return to the Middle Earth with Kim Lip, or would at least want to spend some time with her before parting. Kim Lip couldn’t risk it. If there were too many colors in the same area, Heejin would surely feel the pull and search for them. She had to keep quiet in order to keep everyone safe. 

“Where are we going?” Yeojin complained. “We packed everything in the room and now we’re just leaving?! Are we going to your house?”  
Kim Lip and Yeojin were riding the bus with suitcases and grocery bags, so they looked a bit strange. Yeojin was also being overbearingly loud, but Kim Lip didn’t mind it. “It’s a house… Called the country side.”

Yeojin brightened up. “You have a house in the country side? Is it by the sea?”

“Something similar.” Kim Lip nodded. Yeojin chattered away as they stopped at countless bus stops and drove on for hours, the day settling into an orange evening. Kim Lip almost felt like showing Yeojin- “It’s your color!” But she decided against it. They arrived after a good few hours, and Kim Lip and Yeojin walked down to their new house in the little town.

“Wow! Kim Lip, will everyone know our names here?” Yeojin asked, eyes twinkling.

Kim Lip rubbed Yeojin’s head. “Maybe not.”

“Is there a school here? I want to go to school!” Yeojin said, stamping her feet as they walked. 

“...How do I enroll you in a school?” Kim Lip asked.

They got to the house- it was little, but Yeojin looked overjoyed. Kim Lip took the keys she’d received and opened up the door and let Yeojin run around as she set out the groceries.

“This house is so nice!” Yeojin said in awe. “There’s a clear view of the street! The layout is so cute! Unnie, where’s my room?”

“Your room?” Kim Lip thought. “Any room can be your room.”

“Really?!” Yeojin cried. “I’m gonna have the bigger room then!”

Kim Lip shook her head, and let Yeojin squeal over the size of her new room. Kim Lip listened to her jump around as she put away the food- then, something outside caught her eye. The sky was a disturbing color of blue. Kim Lip squinted, and knew she could not be wrong. Jinsol was completely alone in the middle earth, as she had been for months. She must be looking for Kim Lip.

 _Don’t send me signs!_ Kim Lip scolded Jinsol in her mind. _Heejin will see them too!_

Later, Kim Lip would be found writing a letter to Jinsol at the table. She didn’t know if it would reach Jinsol, or how she would get it to her, but she had to do this in order to get Jinsol to stop messaging her! She sealed the letter, and went to check on Yeojin. Yeojin was up and watching TV in the new room, and she looked up at Kim Lip.

“Unnie, are you sure you don’t want this room?” Yeojin asked, looking guilty.  
“I don’t want it.” Kim Lip shrugged. “I’m going to the ocean. Will you be alright alone?”

“The ocean?” Yeojin sprung up. “I wanna go too!”

Kim Lip and Yeojin went together, and Yeojin watched as Kim Lip walked into the water with her letter in hand until her knees were submerged in water. She took the sealed letter, and crouched down so that her torso was in the water too.

“What are you doing?!” Yeojin shouted from the sand. Kim Lip was fully dressed too! She looked crazy! Kim Lip ignored Yeojin, and dunked the letter underwater. There was a subtle glow from Kim Lip, and Yeojin squinted in confusion. She thought that the glow looked...red.

Kim Lip only got up after a long while, and stared up at the moon before sloshing her way back to shore. She ran her fingers through her hair as she approached Yeojin, who looked utterly confused.

“Why did you throw your letter in the ocean?! Weirdo!” Yeojin insulted.

Kim Lip looked up at the sky. “Yeojin, the full moon is tomorrow.”

“The full moon?” Yeojin frowned. “Yeah, I guess it is. Why?”

“...I should’ve known this was coming.” Kim Lip muttered, her face looking grave. “We should go back.”

“Wait, I wanna play!” Yeojin refused. She smiled brightly. “Let’s go back into the water!” 

Kim Lip let Yeojin run in the water, and looked out at the dark horizons. 

The next day, Kim Lip and Yeojin returned to the ocean. Kim Lip was looking for a letter- surely Jinsol would reply. Tonight was the night of the full moon, and Kim Lip could sense that it would be the weakest full moon to come in centuries. Kim Lip was correct, and swept the soggy letter from the water. She read it perfectly, and came to be correct. Jinsol was surprised to feel such faint pulls from the moon, and reckoned it was because Jinsol and Kim Lip were apart from each other.

Kim Lip watched the setting sun as Yeojin went out to play in the water once again, and felt that tonight, she could not rid the crescent in her eye. The weakness of the moon was intolerable- it felt like her strength was running on fumes. Kim Lip tucked away Jinsol’s letter, and when she looked back up, Kim Lip realized there was a strange light behind Yeojin. Kim Lip narrowed her eyes, and she grit her teeth.

“Yeojin, come here.” Kim Lip ordered, and Yeojin, who had never heard Kim Lip speak in such a tone, made a surprised face as she obediently ran to Kim Lip’s side.

“What’s wrong?” Yeojin asked, looking up at Kim Lip, then glanced at where Kim Lip was looking. In the water, there was some one walking- Yeojin was creeped out. How could this person be walking in the depths of the ocean? They must be really tall!

“Heejin?” Kim Lip called out abruptly.

“So you haven’t forgotten me.” The person called back, getting closer to the shore. She, Heejin, was dressed in a yellow dress with a long sleeved shirt beneath, which too was soaked as was the rest of Heejin. This person… Was actually quite beautiful! Even as much as Kim Lip!

“Yellow? You’d wear such a color?” Kim Lip laughed, and Heejin didn’t look too happy with that comment.

“...Who is this child?” Heejin directed her gaze at Yeojin.

Kim Lip seemed shocked for a moment. Then, she pulled Yeojin close to her. “She is mine.”

“Where is Orange?” Heejin sighed. “I can sense Yellow and Green, but I cannot sense Orange. What vessel did you put her in?”

Yeojin remembered talk of these vessels and colors- According to Kim Lip, Yeojin was supposed to be orange. 

“Orange has faded.” Kim Lip spat. “You with your rash decisions, you chose to make orange even without the presence of Hyunjin!”

Kim Lip and Heejin spoke so sophisticatedly, Yeojin thought the Kim Lip who spoke one-liners, and spoke quite loudly while always looking thoughtful, was no where to be found at that moment.

“What other choice could I make?” Heejin snapped, stopping when the water had fallen to her knees. “Orange needed to be created to keep guard of Yellow and Green. There… There is no absence of Orange’s presence! She hasn’t faded! I would feel it if she had!”

“You always have these ridiculous emotional outbursts.” Kim Lip hissed. “Are you really a color? Or have you truly become human? Of course Orange has faded! Her color was so weak that she’s gone completely! When she was created, I could not even feel her presence in the universe. Of course you would not feel anything now that she’s gone!”

Heejin looked furious, and Yeojin felt afraid. She looked up at Kim Lip, and found no comfort- Kim Lip looked equally as enraged. 

“Take this child away.” Heejin demanded.

“You dare to face me? You who has no connection with the universe?” Kim Lip was starting to sound crazy. 

“I created this universe!” Heejin’s brow was twitching. “I can do whatever I want to you and anyone who resides in this moon’s realm!

“You underestimate me. You were gone for hundreds of years that I grew and developed. You truly… abandoned us for the Earth. Beyond this… Not everything is in your control. This galaxy was not your creation. That… makes you furious, does it not?” Kim Lip laughed, and her skin seemed to grow cold as the pale color shifted into something… red. She looked down at Yeojin, and rubbed her head as she always would.

“Go back to the house.” Kim Lip whispered, and leaned down to speak into Yeojin’s ear. “Hide there. It’s safe.”

“But I don’t wanna go back without you!” Yeojin cried. “I wanna be with you! Unnie, don’t make me go back- let’s just go home together!”

“I’ll find you again.” Kim Lip swore, cupping Yeojin’s face. “I won’t be long. I’ll come to see you tonight, alright? Just go, and don’t come back until I find you.”

Yeojin, despite having run away, still could not help but look back. And as she ran, she felt that the ocean was rising around Heejin- and a blinding light was emitting from Kim Lip. Yeojin squinted, and looked up at the sky. She felt as though she were hallucinating once she realized what she’d seen. In the sky, the moon was beginning to move at a strange pace, as though it were gliding across the sky, until it made a steady finale in front of the sun. Suddenly, the sky was black, and the moon shone red with the heat of the sun. Yeojin felt faint, for some reason- when she looked back at Kim Lip and Heejin, she saw Kim Lip’s blinding light had grown to an even fiercer, more piercing color, sure to blind any human who looked. Yeojin’s head felt strange, and her body felt like it was dissolving- she could not remember what happened after that.

A while later, the fourteen year old vessel woke up in the middle of the road, and realized her name was Im Yeojin, and that she had no memories of what had just happened to her. She grit her teeth as her stomach growled, and she opened her eyes. Above her, a woman with huge eyes was staring down at her.

The days were passing quickly. Yves would watch the sun sets with anxiety, unable to enjoy the beauty of the fading sun. With each day, Olivia’s insistence grew to the point that Yves began to lose sleep over it, and could not help but shadow Vivi’s every move in worry that something could happen to her.

“Why are you following me so much?” Vivi laughed once she noticed. 

“I miss you.” Yves would reply simply, her voice coarse. Vivi’s smile faded that day, and she cupped Yves’s face in her hand.

“Yves…” Vivi murmured. “You don’t look well.”

“I’m okay.” Yves shuddered, closing her eyes and pressing her cheek into Vivi’s hand. She could at least be at peace now- Vivi was alive and touching her so gently. Yves would be fine so long as Vivi were nearby.

“Colors can’t get sick, right?” Vivi frowned. “Why do you look sick then?! You’ve been looking like this for a few days now…”

“I’m sorry.” Yves mumbled. “It’s nothing. I’ve just been worried.”

“Worried about what?” Vivi stopped cooking and turned her attention entirely to Yves.

“...That the Odd Eyes aren’t coming.” Yves said gently. “It’s important that they come and see Eden. It’s just so weird that they haven’t been able to come yet.”

“I know. I know, really, it’s really so weird. I’m hoping it’s because the moon isn’t at it’s right position or something like that, and nothing bad.” Vivi confessed. She shook her head, and brightened up quickly. “I’m sure it’s just a delay! We shouldn’t worry too much, right? There’s nothing too bad happening, so they must be working hard to restore balance.”

“Right. Right, they must be working hard.” Yves agreed, and bent down to hug Vivi. Vivi hugged her back readily, petting her head in comfort. 

“It’s okay. Don’t worry!” Vivi assured her. “It’ll be alright. They’ll come sooner or later. Let’s just leave it up to the moon.”

Yves nodded, and held her tightly in response. Too bad she had to lie about this to Vivi- she tried to shake away the thought. Yves would tell Vivi. She’d tell Vivi everything, and they’d finally be able to leave.

“Yves.”  
Yves jumped at the call- she held Vivi a bit closer, and turned her head to see Olivia standing by the kitchen’s entryway. 

“Hi, Olivia!” Vivi called from behind Yves’s shoulder, smiling.

“...Vivi.” Olivia greeted quietly. “Yves, come with me. Now.”

“What are you telling her?” Olivia hissed once they were out of earshot.

“Nothing.” Yves muttered.

“Fucking shit… I know you’re in love with her. You’re fucking things up.” Olivia spat.

“I seriously don’t wanna talk right now.” Yves pushed herself off the wall, but Olivia grabbed her wrist.

“How many times do we have to talk about this?” Olivia’s eyes blazed. “Aren’t you sick of this back and forth? Why can’t we just go through with what we planned? You’re ignoring Chuu! You’re completely fucking this over!”

“I just told you I don’t wanna talk.” Yves snapped, and yanked her hand away from Olivia’s.

“So what? What are you gonna do? Tell Vivi everything?” Olivia said as Yves walked away. “You think she’d really believe you? What about all those fucking hot nights with Chuu?”

“I didn’t do shit with Chuu!” Yves snarled, whipping around to face Olivia.

“You think Vivi would stick by you all faithful if you told her? You think she’d be alright with you fucking other girls? You think she’d still stay with yo-,”

There was a sickening crunch of bone to bone after Yves stormed towards Olivia and pulled back her elbow, delivering a punch that made Olivia stumble back.

“Stop… Talking about Vivi.” Yves mumbled. “Fucking annoying. It’s dirty if her name’s in your mouth.”

Olivia wiped the blood from her nose, shocked at the impact. She snickered once she pulled her wrist away. “...I knew I should’ve had Vivi for myself. She’s pretty, right? Her vessel has that little tiny frame, but she’s got so much body. She’s got a fuckable face too. It’s fucking sexy, right? When she gets on top of-,”

Yves flew back onto Olivia, and delivered a few more hard hits before Olivia shoved her off and drove her fist into Yves’s nose. Yves grabbed Olivia’s neck, gaining control again and slamming her head onto the ground.

“Stop talking about her,” Yves panted above Olivia, blood dripping from her brow onto Olivia’s cheek. “She’s too good for you. Even you thinking about her is a fucking disgrace.”

“You think you’re any better?” Olivia heaved, rolling her eyes back as she let out a breathy laugh. “Kissing other girls and lying like a bitch. What to do, Yves? You’re a fucking whore. All you do is throw yourself around for me. You’re just a pawn, Yves.”

“I’m your only fucking pawn. If you let me go, you’ll have no support.” Yves spat.

“Yeah? That’s what you think? Yves, I know you won’t betray me. You know I’ll kill that bitch before you can even think of betraying me.” Olivia was grinning, but her face was turning blue. Yves’s chokehold was intense to the point that it was frightening. Yves could only pray Vivi wouldn’t see this.

“How could you kill her? It’s impossible you fucking idiot.” Yves muttered, and let go of Olivia. She rose to her feet, and stepped away from her. Beneath her, Olivia gasped and coughed, hunched on the floor.

“Where are you going?” Olivia asked hoarsely. “I thought you were gonna prove a point, bitch.”

“Prove what point?” Yves limped away- Olivia had gotten some seriously good kicks into Yves’s legs-, wiping the stream of blood from her nose. It didn’t help, so she tilted her head back and stared up at the ceiling. “I’m gonna go see Vivi.”

Yves went back into the kitchen, and she froze in fear. Vivi wasn’t there- the stove had been turned off, so it seemed she wasn’t dragged away or anything. Yves looked around, and came to the conclusion that she wasn’t in any sort of struggle. She staggered around the counter top and went into the dining room- “Vivi?” She called, but Vivi wasn’t there either. Yves felt like vomiting. Where was she?

Yves searched in every room, breaking out in cold sweats until she found her in the second library, talking to Chuu.

“What are you doing?”

Vivi and Chuu both turned around, and their faces dropped at the sight of a tattered Yves.

“Are you okay?” Vivi rushed to her.

“Yves!” Chuu cried, and the two girls crowded her. Yves threw her arms around Vivi in relief, hugging her. 

“Don’t run off.” Yves sighed, feeling light headed.

“Yves, what happened to you?!” Vivi whimpered. “You’re bleeding! What happened? Where’s Olivia?”

“Did you fall?!” Chuu exclaimed.

“What are you doing with Vivi?” Yves stood up from Vivi, giving a hard stare to Chuu. Chuu flinched, “W-What?”

“What are you doing with Vivi?” Yves repeated harshly.

“Nothing! I was just talking to her!” Chuu cried.

“Talking… You don’t even like her.” Yves laughed, stumbling over her feet. Vivi was quick to hold her up. Yves, touched by the support, bent down and kissed Vivi before hugging her again.

“Let’s go.” Yves mumbled. 

“Go where?” Vivi said, and pushed Yves away to hold her face. “We can’t go anywhere! Look at how you’re bleeding! Chuu, would you come and help?”

“Of course!” Chuu agreed quickly, recovering quickly from the two metaphorical slaps Yves had given her.

“Not you.” Yves growled, staring down Chuu again. “Don’t follow us.”

“Yves!” Vivi said scoldingly.

Chuu stared back at Yves in shock, eyebrows furrowed as her eyes watered. “Yves… Do you really mean this?”

“Mean what?” Yves was cold to her, and both Chuu and Vivi were startled by the tone of her voice. Chuu’s face closed, and her nose scrunched until she burst out into tears. She ran away, and shoved past Vivi.

“Chuu!” Vivi called, starting towards her but eventually deciding against it. She turned to Yves, frowning. “Why would you treat her that way? You know she likes you!”

“I don’t like her. I don’t like her at all.” Yves shook her head, arms wrapped around Vivi’s waist as they spoke.

“That doesn’t mean you can just trample on her like that! Her feelings are real, you know? It’s fine if you don’t return them. You should at least be nice!” Vivi went on scolding. “I’ll take care of you now, but after this you have to go apologize to Chuu.”

“Vivi…” Yves muttered, closing her eyes. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Vivi replied, petting Yves’s head. “Hey! You’re trying to stop me from being angry!”

“I’m not.” Yves smiled. 

“You are!” Vivi laughed.

Vivi helped to clean up Yves in their room, and Gowon came in quickly and shut the door quietly, locking it. She turned to Vivi and Yves.

“Gowon!” Vivi said delightedly. 

“Unnie.” Gowon replied with equal warmth. “Yves, did you fight with Olivia? She just came to my room and collapsed on my bed!”

“You fought with Olivia?!” Vivi looked at Yves angrily.  
Yves cast her eyes down in shame.

“You can’t be fighting with Olivia! We’re so close to leaving!” Gowon hissed. 

“Leaving? To where?” Vivi tilted her head.

“You haven’t told her?!” Gowon looked horrified. Yves hugged Vivi’s waist instead of replying.

“Haven’t told me what?” Vivi frowned.

“...Argh! I don’t know how to explain!” Gowon threw up her hands.

“Olivia… She wants to take control of this universe.” Yves mumbled into Vivi’s dress. “She’s thinking of killing the colors in order to do it.”

“Killing all the colors?” Vivi paled. “Yves, don’t joke like that! That’s too sad to joke about!”

“It’s true. Vivi, I was her pawn.” Yves said, and she had a strange grip on Vivi’s waist that only grew tighter. “She… I used to relay everything I could to her, until- until I fell in love with you. I didn’t wanna keep doing things that could hurt you, so I stopped.”

Vivi was quiet for a moment, and Gowon was frozen in shock. Yves was actually coming clean! But now was a _terrible_ time to come clean. _Yves, you idiot!_ Gowon cursed her friend in her mind.

“Relay everything you could… What did you relay?” Vivi asked quietly.

“Everything you’d tell me about the middle earth, and the cosmos, and just- just everything that was worthy to be told.” Yves was… seriously confessing. It was all tumbling out, as though Yves herself had felt guilty for keeping her misdeeds to Vivi quiet. 

“Did you tell her that the Odd Eyes were coming?” Vivi asked after another long pause.

“I did. I did, but after that, I didn’t say anything else.” Yves went on. “Vivi, I’m only telling you this because I need you to believe me. I need you to believe me, I- I don’t trust Olivia anymore, or anything she says, and- And I want you to leave Eden with us.”

“So you got close to me because you wanted information on the Colors?” Vivi’s voice was gravely silent. Gowon, standing at the doorway, now felt anxious with fear. If Vivi was this angry now, imagine what would happen when Yves told her about Chuu! Gowon knew that Yves deserved whatever Vivi would give her, but right now was really not the time to be confessing all of this!

“...” Yves didn’t reply. “...But I stopped. Vivi, I stopped, really, I fell in love with you- Don’t you know that? I- I’m always clinging onto you, right? Vivi, I love you, I’ve told you this before, so please-,”

“I thought the feelings were real from the start.” Vivi’s hands fell from Yves’s shoulders. Yves, panicking, grabbed her hands and put them back on her shoulders. “...Is there more?”

“More of what?” Yves choked out, looking up at Vivi desperately. 

“More things you’ve lied about.” Vivi said, and a chill seemed to fall over the room with her words. Her innocent, sweet face looked completely void of emotion, her eyes dark. Gowon gulped, and she knew Yves felt the tension too by the way her eyes widened.

Vivi suddenly teared up, and shoved Yves away from her. “It’s Chuu, right?” She accused, and both Gowon and Yves almost fainted. Yves’ face drained of color the moment Vivi said it, and she immediately got to her knees.

“No.” Yves said, voice trembling. “No, no I- I don’t have anything to do with her. I didn’t-,”

“You think I didn’t hear?” Vivi snapped. “I- There was a night you told me that you were just going to walk for a bit, and I- I wanted to go with you, so I followed, and- and I heard you and Chuu! I thought I was mistaken, I, I didn’t know it was really you!”

“Vivi!” Yves cried.

“You betrayed me!” Vivi shrieked, and let out an ugly sob. But even her “ugly” sob sounded beautiful, still looking as pretty as the day she’d come to Eden as she cried and looked so wounded. She shoved Yves away from her, and made a run for the door. Yves, like some sort of animal, crawled behind her and grabbed her ankle, making Vivi trip onto the floor. Vivi let out a cry, and Yves caught her head before it could hit the ground.

“Yves!” Gowon yelped, lunging forward as though Vivi would truly be hurt by Yves’ hand.

“If you go out crying now, Olivia will kill you.” Yves heaved, and the look in her eyes was enough to make anyone shrink into a fearful submission. “She’ll know we told you we want to leave Eden.”

Vivi looked at Yves with her bottom lip trembling and teary eyes stretched wide with fear- and suddenly, Yves felt like she’d die. Gingerly, she pressed her hand to Vivi’s cheek. “Stop shaking.” Yves pleaded in a whisper. “I didn’t mean it. Vivi, I didn’t mean to grab you. I didn’t- I never wanted to betray you. But if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have you with me.”

Yves’ words only deepened Vivi’s fear. Her face grew pale, and her chest heaved at an alarming rate. She shook her head rapidly, and tried to wriggle desperately out of Yves’ hold. She sounded crazy! 

“Yves, enough!” Gowon tried to intervene.

“Why are people always trying to get in between Vivi and I?” Yves snarled, glaring at Gowon- there was a murderous glint in her eyes. “You, Olivia, Chuu, those fucking colors, that fucking deer, even that shitty book… Everyone’s trying to get in my way.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Gowon’s voice broke. “Aren’t you the one who said you wanted to change everything if it meant Vivi would be safe? You fucking pyschopath… You’re fucking crazy.”

“Why do you think… if you hadn’t betrayed me, I wouldn’t still be with you?” Vivi asked, voice shaking to a point that it pained Yves’ heart. Yves immediately turned her attention to Vivi, and cupped her face.

“All I want to do is be with you.” Yves murmured, and her eye twitched as she spoke. “I thought that back then, Olivia was right. That if we let you be with the other Colors again, they’d kill you because of how much you’ve sinned- at first, I thought it was the only way you and I could be together. Olivia wanted me to make you fall in love with me so that you’d be convinced to follow us when the time for Olivia’s plan came to fruition… and wanted me to betray you with Chuu so that she’d be convinced to follow us too. If I had just turned all my attention to you, Chuu would do whatever she could- betray our plan, try to kill us, try to kill… you,- to get me back to her. So I thought I had to do both things in order to keep you to myself. But you… You wouldn’t ever want to follow through with a plan that had to do with murdering anyone, much less colors. If I kept on doing what I had been doing, your color would’ve faded from the heart ache. So… So leaving Eden is the only way. It’s the only way I can be with you, Vivi.”

Vivi looked so terrified, that Yves suddenly realized that she was scaring her. Yves let go of Vivi’s wrists, and she scrambled onto her knees, crawling away until she was as far as she possibly could be from Yves. Yves watched this happen, and began to panic- Had she driven away Vivi already? Would Vivi never come back to her after this? Didn’t her confession make perfect sense? Why didn’t Vivi embrace Yves? Why was she afraid? Breathing heavily, Yves collapsed onto the floor, holding the back of her head as she pressed her forehead into the ground, knees moving randomly as she tried to make sense of everything that was happening.

“Unnie,” Gowon sat beside Vivi, and spoke gently to her. “Unnie…”

“I believe you.” Vivi said shakily, closing her eyes. She reached out, and held Gowon’s hand in hers. “I believe what you said about Olivia. That night, when you came to my room with her asking about that book. There was no book, Gowon. We weren’t reading any books together that time.”

“I know you believe us.” Gowon murmured, and put her head on Vivi’s shoulder. “Because you’re good. But unnie, I don’t know where we’re gonna go after we escape. Yves said… Yves asked if there’s a place we could stay besides going to the middle earth, because she’s afraid they might kill you.”

“They might, but I still want to go.” Vivi said, and Gowon felt terrible as Vivi’s hand still shook violently in hers. Gowon held it with both of her hands in hopes Vivi would feel comforted. “Jinsol and Kim Lip are kind. Heejin might kill me, but Jinsol and Kim Lip won’t. We just… we should just see them first and hear what they have to say.”

“...Mm.” Gowon agreed quietly, and the two sat there in silence as Yves writhed on the floor, muttering and heaving in front of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> KIM LIP AND YEOJIN FLASH BACK AT THE START :00000 That's basically yeojin's whole past mwah ahaha and ALSO I realized there's a few plot holes in the time line of the story so im trying to go back and revise the chapters and fix it accordingly! In the present timeline which starts with Hyunjin finding Haseul on Earth, it's been around mmmm maybe little over a year? :3  
> thx for reading!!!


	7. Chapter 7

“An illusion?”

“I can’t think of anything else.”

Jinsol and Kim Lip were arguing late into the night, as they usually did. Choerry didn’t bother to sit around and listen. For the weeks after they could not reach Vivi in Eden, Jinsol and Kim Lip fell into a frenzy of jumping back and forth between the cosmos and middle earth, trying to figure out a way to get to Vivi.

“We need to force the moon.” Kim Lip slammed her hand down one night.

“Force the moon?” Jinsol scoffed. “When’s the last time we forced a moon? Must’ve been three hundred years ago, right? We were messing around and you accidentally sped up one of Jupiter’s moons? Come on, Kim Lip, we don’t even know the effects of forcing our moon.”

Kim Lip was silent for a moment. “I forced an eclipse recently.”

“An eclipse?” Jinsol looked shocked. “Where in the galaxy did you force an eclipse? Kim Lip, doesn’t that drain you? When we did it all those years ago, it was both of us together and we still fainted! Hyunjin had to find us and take us back!” 

Jinsol then seemed to remember something. “When you came back after looking for Heejin! You told me in that letter to stop sending you signals because you thought it would interfere with the moon… did that have something to do with your eclipse?!”

“...Yes.” Kim Lip was lying so obviously that it almost hurt Choerry. Choerry was disappointed in Jinsol- centuries of time together, and she still never knew when Kim Lip was lying, joking or even being serious. 

“Well, what were the aftereffects?” Jinsol clasped her hands together.

“I wasn’t there for much longer.” Kim Lip scratched her neck. “I remember bringing on the eclipse, then… then it started to rain. It was a clear day too…”

“It’s impossible that you would change the weather, right?” Jinsol sighed. “Did you see anything else?”

“The eclipse… at its end, it seemed like it was colder towards the end. When I walked back into the ocean, the tide was lower.” Kim Lip said, recalling the night seriously.

“The tide was lower?” Jinsol’s eyes widened. “You were on a planet with an ocean?! God, you must’ve looked far. But wait- the tide was lower…. Kim Lip, did the eclipse manipulate time?”

“Time?” Kim Lip’s eyes widened. “My powers are strong, but it’s unheard of for Odd Eyes to manipulate time.”

“We are literally the only Odd Eyes in the universe.” Jinsol sighed. She must’ve thought Kim Lip sounded stupid right now- but Jinsol was even more stupid for wondering about which planet Kim Lip had gone to that had an ocean! Even Choerry, who was sitting on the couch scribbling on paper, connected the dots!

“Right…” Kim Lip said sheepishly. “If I can bring on another eclipse, we can go to Eden. It should work, shouldn’t it? Since we sped up time?”

“This doesn’t make sense.” Jinsol pinched the bridge of her nose. “If it was an illusion, doesn’t that mean we should just wait until the moon’s pull is weaker again? Won’t the moon’s pull… Oh, the moon’s pool will drain since you’re connecting to it! Kim Lip, you’re so smart!”

Choerry sighed, put away her paper and got up. She wasn’t too interested in what happened- she was sure Kim Lip and Jinsol would figure out a way to find Vivi quickly. Choerry slipped out the door, and hopped down the steps of her porch. She looked up at the twinkling night sky, and smiled at the sight. The moon was shining brightly down on the middle earth. Choerry took in a deep breath, and went to walk in the grass, feeling at peace away from the noisy chatter of Kim Lip and Jinsol.

“Mm!” Choerry hummed in delight once she caught sight of Jinsol’s fruit farm. The trees were strong and healthy, growing taller by the day- and tonight, a select few were ripe with cherries! Choerry rushed over to the tree, and stood on the tips of her toes, reaching up to sort through the cherries and find the best looking one.

“My namesake! I’m sorry for eating you, but you’re too delicious!” Choerry said happily as she picked out a pair of firm, purple cherries, which glinted beneath the moonlight. Choerry wriggled in excitement, and lowered the cherries into her mouth- she took a bite of one, and munched on it happily. 

Choerry was about to pluck another pair as she took another bite, but suddenly, there was a sharp ringing in Choerry’s ears. She yelped, but before she could truly react, her head was spinning and her vision was spotting- she could feel herself falling over, only to fall onto a soft cushion moments later.

Choerry opened her eyes, eager to see what had saved her from fainting so courageously, but she found that she was not staring up at the night sky. Instead, she was staring at some kind of rough, gray ceiling.

Choerry spun her legs so that she was sitting upright. In her right hand, that pair of cherries she’d yet to finish eating were still with her. Choerry inspected the fruits curiously- “After I ate you, you transported me?” Choerry frowned, staring at the two fruits dangling from their stem.

“You don’t even respond..” Choerry sighed, and figured she might need these cherries sooner than later, so she decided to keep them on hand as she got up and looked around. The place she’d been transported to was strange. She’d never seen anything like this on the middle earth. The “house” seemed to be just the skeleton of a house- gray and rough all around, and even then, Choerry didn’t believe this could even be the basis of a house. It was ridiculous! What was this place?! 

Choerry found that there was not much to see in this place besides the gaping windows that revealed beautiful fields of green. She did, however, discover that her feet echoed, which made her quite happy. She spent some time yelling and making noise and listening to their echoes before getting bored. 

“Should I test you again, my little cherries?” Choerry asked them smugly, but before she could even step in the direction of the mattress she’d awoken on, something caught her eye. Through the window, someone was flashing a light at her. Choerry blocked it the light from her face until it was gone, but grew so curious that she made her way out of the building and went to search for whoever had sent that glinting signal. Choerry ran around the green fields, but for a while, could not find anyone. She scratched her head. 

“I’m seeing things…” Choerry mumbled to herself, and just as she said it, something caught her eye again. Choerry tilted her head curiously. The seemingly giant fields of green hills… were wrinkled? Choerry stepped forward, and reached out her fingertips to try and touch that wrinkle. Instead, Choerry was met with a strange force of some sorts, making her back away. 

Choerry tilted her head left and right, but could not seem to figure out what was happening here. She put her hands on her hips, and narrowed her eyes as though it would help her. 

Choerry then discovered something- she could see a house in the distance. It wasn’t too far off, even. Choerry wanted to go see what that house had to offer, so she gave the barrier a final inspection before seeing the flaw. The underpart of the barrier was totally missing- like it was made for people to cross under! Choerry merrily ducked under this obstacle, and came up smiling on the other side. This side… the grass was not as green as the barrier had shown it to be, which Choerry found strange. She could hear the ocean crashing in the distance, and found it even more peculiar that the sky was a deep, dark blue, despite it being noon.

“Jinsol?” Choerry said to herself thoughtfully. But what could Jinsol have to do with this? Why create a cranny in the universe and add so many strange things? Choerry shook off these thoughts, replacing them with excitement as she realized she was nearing the house! She approached, and the house grew bigger until she was straining her neck to look up at the upper windows. Choerry went towards the door, and when she tried to open it, it seemed that she couldn’t open it. It was locked. Were there people living here? Choerry wondered why humans would be in the corner of the universe, though. 

Then, a window opened. From above, a young girl was peeking out of the window. She was pretty, and her face was full- and Choerry was getting a strange feeling about this girl. She must be related to their universe!

“Who are you?!” The young girl demanded. “How did you get here?”

“I’m Choerry!” Choerry introduced. “...You have a really strange pull, you know?”

“Strange pull?” The girl muttered. Then, she looked over her shoulder and called out for someone. Another young girl appeared beside her, and Choerry almost stumbled back. Her color was so apparent that it was almost shocking! The green glow beneath her skin was prominent- there was no denying this was the Green Jinsol and Kim Lip talked about!

“I know you!” Choerry said to Green. “You’re Green!”

“You’re a color, aren’t you?” The lady smiled. “I can tell. When was purple created?”

“Ah… Way after Yellow left.” Choerry grinned. 

“Yellow… Hyunjin?” The girl perked up. “You know Hyunjin?”

“Jinsol and Kim Lip talk about her and Green!” Choerry called. 

“Kim Lip?” The girl looked even more interested. “...Does she talk about me? Orange. I think my color is orange.”

“Orange…” Choerry echoed softly, narrowing her eyes. The only colors in the universe were bright pink, blue, red, yellow, purple, light pink and green. There was no Orange. Choerry scoffed, and shook her head. So she’d been right all along- she’d always felt something strange, something as though things weren’t as they seemed. She’d realized there were more colors. But… Choerry suddenly felt as though Orange was not the only color that Kim Lip and Jinsol had kept quiet about. Either that, or there were more colors in the world that her creators…. Weren’t aware of. “Kim Lip doesn’t talk about you much. I don’t think Jinsol knows about you!”

“Oh.” Orange seemed to deflate, and Green put a comforting arm around her.

“I’m Haseul, and this is Yeojin! Why don’t you come in?”

“So you guys can’t get to Eden?”

They were sitting on the couch, knees to their chests as they spoke to each other. 

“Kim Lip’s gonna force an eclipse?!” Yeojin looked delighted that her creator was so cool.

“Apparently, the eclipse speeds up time. When she last created the eclipse, I’m guessing there was some kind of reaction.” Choerry said to them. She looked around at the house. “This place isn’t anything in the ordinary, you know? Yeojin, you said Kim Lip was with you for a long time before Haseul and Hyunjin, right?”

“Right, right.” Yeojin agreed.

“This place must be some sort of after effect.” Choerry nodded. “...It must be unstable, then. Does the sky turn any colors other than blue?”

“The sky turned black not so long ago.” Haseul said, leaning forward. “You don’t think there’s any color like black out there, right? It was weird. The sun was still up, but the sky was pitch black.”

“Mn! Back in Seoul, the sky’s been turning colors for all of everyone’s lives. The sky’s been turning blue, pink, yellow and red for as long as anyone can remember!” Yeojin chipped in. 

“It’s normal then.” Choerry was faintly surprised. 

“Choerry, you said this place was unstable.” Haseul shifted topics. “How could it be unstable? Hyunjin found this place and told us it was safe here.”

“Why is it safe? I mean, why do you guys have to be somewhere that’s safe?” Choerry asked.

“Hyunjin doesn’t want Heejin to find us.” Yeojin said. “She said so long as we stay here, and so long as Hyunjin’s far from us, Heejin doesn’t have a chance at finding us!”

 _Well that’s not true. There’s a chance for everything!_ But Hyunjin was right. There was no pull of the moon here. The energy was completely weak, and especially the energies of Haseul and Yeojin. But that… only alarmed Choerry more. Yeojin seemed to be naturally a weak spirit- her color barely shone through her vessel, if not at all, but Haseul was much stronger than Yeojin. Her color was prominent, and Choerry could feel the attraction to her. So why hadn’t Choerry felt the pull before seeing Haseul, or before she’d crossed the barrier?

“She’s right. It’s impossible for Heejin to find you here.” Choerry agreed. “Haseul, you haven’t been feeling weaker by any chance, have you?”

“Weaker?” Haseul murmured.

“She totally has! Unnie used to be really talkative and energetic, but now she falls asleep at whatever chance she gets!” Yeojin cried. “She’s really responsible, but now she doesn’t even wash the dishes! I have to do all the work! Unnie, tell Choerry unnie!”

“I’m fine, really!” Haseul waved it off. “No need to worry about nothing.”

Choerry came to a conclusion. Could some one be feeding off of Yeojin and Haseul’s energies? Could it be the moon itself was draining their energy? 

“But, Choerry, why are you here?” Yeojin asked. 

“Why am I here?” Choerry asked, snapping out of her thoughts. She grinned. “I don’t know! I ate a cherry and I ended up here!”

Haseul and Yeojin blinked at Choerry. 

“...That sounds like a lie, right?” Choerry said sheepishly. “Nevermind! I actually have a favor to ask. Haseul, Yeojin, could I stay here for a few days?”

“What? But what about Jinsol and Kim Lip?” Haseul asked, looking surprised.

“Jinsol and Kim Lip?” Choerry thought of them arguing at home. They’d been too occupied to even tell Choerry whenever they were headed to the cosmos. Choerry shook her head, and smiled. “They’re fine. It would be wrong to leave the middle earth unattended, so it’s better that they stay home.”

“Well… Of course you can stay here!” Haseul said brightly, springing to her feet. “You can share my room. We only have two rooms, since Hyunjin made this place for us! But it’s very pretty outside! There’s a pool, and- Oh! You eat, don’t you? Hyunjin planted a farm for us outside. Everything’s already ripe and ready to go!”

“Alright!” Choerry agreed happily. 

“Unnie, you can tell me about Kim Lip, right?” Yeojin asked, eyes twinkling. “Can’t you send letters to her or something? Hyunjin was sending letters to Jinsol, wasn’t she?!”

“Well, I could.” Choerry said thoughtfully. “There’s an ocean around here, you know?”

“An ocean?!” Haseul and Yeojin both shouted.

“How do you guys know nothing about your world?” Choerry said as she lead them down the hill. 

“We just thought it was a bunch of grass!” Haseul laughed.

“Choerry unnie, I can’t see the ocean at all!” Yeojin complained.

“Yeojin, why do you call me unnie? I’m certain that I was created after you.” Choerry called to her.

“You just look older!” Yeojin huffed. “I always have to give explanations for everything I say!”

“I’m sorry! She’s really weird…” Haseul apologized on Yeojin’s behalf, who threw a tantrum in response. 

“Ah, there it is!” Choerry could clearly see the ocean, but Haseul and Yeojin seemed confused. “You guys can’t see it?”

Even as Choerry took off her shoes and stepped onto the sand, it seemed Haseul and Yeojin found no difference. Choerry stepped into the water, and told them to come along too. Already bare footed, they followed suit, then screamed once they realized they were really stepping in water (even though it looked so much like grass!). 

“You guys can’t see it at all?” Choerry was baffled. “You can’t even hear the waves?”

“Choerry, if this is some kind of joke, it’s not funny! How the hell are my feet wet?!” Haseul cried. Yeojin was still screaming.

Choerry stood in shock. This place certainly was unstable! Why would the ocean be under such a disguise to the point that one wasn’t even able to hear the water?

 _To cut off any connections with the Colors. No letters, no pull to the moon, nothing._ Choerry suddenly realized. She looked up in the sky, and found that the moon was not visible in the blue sky. _Would Hyunjin go to such extremes?_

 _No, that’s not the right question. Did Hyunjin even know about this?_

“So Hyunjin took you guys on an airplane and brought you to… Iceland?”

Choerry, Haseul and Yeojin were back at the house after the “ocean” had freaked them out for too long, and were now chatting as Haseul tried hard to make a fruit salad.

“Yep! But it doesn’t even matter, right?” Yeojin sighed. “There’s no way we’ll ever even talk to icelandic people. We can’t even go to the grocery store!”

“Yeojin, let’s not talk about the grocery store.” Haseul sighed, worried Yeojin would have another break down over not being able to go to the store.  
“I want to eat chips at least one more time before I die!” Yeojin shouted.

“You guys do know that this is not Earth, right?” Choerry asked carefully.

“What?” Haseul frowned.

“Not Earth? We took a plane to get here!” Yeojin brushed off Choerry’s comment quickly.

“No matter what, it’s not Earth.” Choerry insisted, shaking her head. “There’s no way to disguise the ocean to this extent if it were really Earth. Besides, the moon isn’t visible during the day. I… I don’t even think there is a moon here.”

“No moon?” Haseul echoed, slowly putting down the orange she was cutting.

“It makes sense, doesn’t it?” Choerry went on. “Why you’re feeling so weak? There’s no moon to even sustain your energy.”

“Hey, she’s right!” Yeojin suddenly gasped. “There is no moon in the day time! Unnie, I’ve really never seen it in the sky!”

Haseul looked up at Choerry, a worried look on her face. “...I have something to show you.”

It had fallen to night, and the moon appeared on schedule. Choerry looked up at the moon as Haseul guided her out- The moon was big and bright. It hadn’t made sense, since the sun was weak that day. Choerry snorted- she was right again. This wasn’t a real moon at all!

“Come see this, Choerry.” Haseul had stopped in front of a tree farm, full of fruits. Choerry stood beside Haseul.

“This is just a tree.” Choerry pointed out awkwardly.

“She must be messing around.” Yeojin rolled her eyes. “What a weirdo! Unnie, this isn’t funny at all, you know that?”

“Hush.” Haseul said. “Just watch.”

They stood for a long time in front of that tree. Yeojin kicked the dirt beneath her and constantly complained, and Haseul stared at the leaves with an intense face. After a while, Choerry did find something strange. It seemed these leaves were moving, albeit slowly, despite there being no wind.

“There it is!” Haseul whispered, and tapped Choerry’s arm.

“What is?” Choerry asked, looking closer- and she found it. A fruit stem was growing.

“Keep watching!” Haseul insisted, and now even Yeojin was interested in what was happening. After a few moments, a bud grew- and after a minute, an orange was sprouting. Choerry and Yeojin both almost fell over in shock.

“What the hell?! It’s- It’s growing!” Choerry stuttered.

“I know! It’s growing too fast!” Haseul exclaimed. “You don’t think this tree is haunted or anything, right? We can still eat the fruits, right?”

“Haseul, does this happen to all of the trees?” Choerry asked, still stunned.

“Every single one of them!” Haseul nodded. “But it’s weird, because they don’t age quickly! Once they ripen, they stop aging!” 

“Hyunjin unnie must’ve cast a spell on it.” Yeojin decided the answer simply. “So that we can never run out of food. How smart my unnie is!”

“Why is there only…” Choerry couldn’t even connect words together. This whole situation was just impossible to understand! 

It was the right choice to stay. Choerry stored her bitten cherries that had brought her here safely away until the next time she had to bite them, and spent two or three days with Haseul and Yeojin. She’d come to discover that time was a jumble in this place. Choerry often went down to watch the tide, since it would help her determine the time- and the tide would rise at day and lower at night, or rise randomly in the middle of the night and keep rising until the entire shore was engulfed during the day, and many other things like that. Haseul had told Choerry about the fruits, and Choerry came to see that Haseul was right. The fruit refused to age. Choerry bit into an apple to test this, and let it out to see if it would shrivel. Even after two days, it did not shrivel. Time here was…. Completely random! Not even random, it seemed time wasn’t real at all! Things worked randomly and sporadically with no schedule or limit to life. Even the sun and moon moved through the sky at weird paces. 

“Sometimes, the sun is out for weeks.” Yeojin remarked to Choerry one night- they supposed it was night- looking up at the sun, still set stubbornly high in the sky.

“Weeks?” Choerry asked in alarm. “What about the moon?”

“Same thing.” Yeojin shrugged. “It doesn’t happen too often, but it happens.”

“Huh!” Choerry humphed, and crossed her arms. “This place is really… really, too weird.”

“Right?” Yeojin yawned. “I really miss the outside world. Well, I guess I should say I miss Earth, right? It never rains here. The weather is always the same. I don’t even know what season it is anymore.”

“Looks like there will never be any seasons here. Just the sun rising and falling.” Choerry scratched her cheek. “This is too bad… Hyunjin didn’t think to take you to the middle earth?”

“Hyunjin can’t go back to the middle earth.” Yeojin shook her head. “She said she committed the biggest sin by going to Earth or whatever, and if she goes back to the cosmos she’ll be killed by you guys. Hey… You assholes were gonna kill my unnie!”

“I don’t want to kill your unnie!” Choerry threw up her hands. “...Why do you guys think Kim Lip and Jinsol would kill you or Hyunjin? They miss you guys.”

“Well, that’s just what Hyunjin told us. Since we’ve all sinned, we have to hide so that Heejin won’t get us.” Yeojin explained. “Choerry, tell me. Is Heejin like, a big, ugly lady with a beard who kills every one she sees? Or is she like a sexy bad guy with huge boobs?”

“I don’t know either.” Choerry confessed. “Jinsol and Kim Lip said shes irresponsible and stupid.”

Yeojin let out a thoughtful hum, and both Choerry and Yeojin looked out the window, an idea of a drunk hobo that beat up everyone she saw formulated in their minds as their images of Heejin.

Chuu was hanging around Vivi more as of late. It had only been a couple of days since Yves and Gowon asked Vivi to leave with them- now, Gowon only had to find a way to ask Chuu to leave with them too. But after Yves had basically spat on her feelings, she’d never want to go anywhere with Yves! Gowon sighed at this realization. Just a few months ago, Chuu obsessed over Yves, bringing her flowers, studying with her, following her everywhere and offering her all sorts of fruits and herbs she’d find. How could things change so drastically?

Anyway, Chuu was being nice to Vivi. Vivi already liked Chuu quite a lot, so she didn’t find anything suspicious about Chuu’s newfound love for her- but Gowon found something was suspicious. Chuu always looked sad as she spoke to Vivi, asking her to cut her fruits or make her food. Yves, on the other hand, had grown sick after her confession. She locked herself in her room, and refused to come out. Gowon suspected that Vivi might be able to coax her out, but knew that it would be a long time before Vivi could come around to Yves. 

So, basically, nothing was going according to plan.

“Chuu, did you wash your hands?” Vivi asked today as Chuu came into the study.

“Of course I did!” Chuu said brightly, and ran to throw her arms around Vivi. Gowon looked up from her book, and stared at their interaction.

“What are you reading?” Chuu asked, and Vivi showed her the book. “Ohh, that looks so interesting! Should we read it together?”

“It’s best if you find another book.” Vivi advised kindly. “I’m halfway through this one.”

“It’s okay! It’ll be fine if I read it with you!” Chuu insisted.

 _Weird._ It’s all Gowon thought these days. Sitting across from her, Olivia was writing in her notebook, hair falling into her face as she worked. Vivi was a surprisingly good actress- even after knowing the truth about Olivia, Vivi didn’t act differently. What could be considered different was the meer fact that Vivi would not cut up fruits for Olivia to eat. 

It was hard to catch Vivi alone these days too. Gowon would trail after her, wanting to talk, but Chuu would always drag her off somewhere. Gowon tried hard to report this to Yves, but Yves was always asleep or going crazy, so it was pointless to even try and explain. It was dangerous for things to keep going like this. Whenever she could, she’d stall Olivia so that she wouldn’t be able to follow after Chuu and Vivi. Leaving Chuu, Olivia and Vivi alone together was like asking for heart ache!

“Olivia!” Gowon caught up with Olivia later that day. Olivia looked up, seeming faintly surprised Gowon was talking to her.

“Um… What are you doing?” Gowon asked.

“...You usually sit with Vivi on this couch.” Olivia said suddenly.

“Yeah, I guess I do.” Gowon rubbed her arm. 

“Can you sit with me instead?” Olivia asked softly, looking at the ground.

“...Sure.” Gowon agreed, and awkwardly took her place beside Olivia.

“You’re stiff with me.” Olivia said.

“Stiff?” Gowon was very stiff. She was also sitting very far away from Olivia.

“Gowon, you haven’t heard anything from Yves, right?” Olivia asked instead. 

“Yves?” Gowon echoed. “No. She’s been in her room, remember? She won’t come out.”

“Why won’t she come out?” Olivia glanced up at Gowon.

Gowon didn’t want to tell Olivia that Yves and Vivi had gotten into a fight. For some reason, telling her felt like she’d be putting Vivi in danger. 

“She won’t come out because… well, you know.” Gowon didn’t even know what her reasoning was. She just gave a very knowing and pitiful glance to Olivia and prayed to the moons it would work.

“She told you about our fight?”

 _Right! They had a fight!_ Gowon was saved! She nodded deeply, closing her eyes. “She was really, really distraught. She was really injured too, so maybe that’s why she hasn’t been coming out!”

“But don’t worry,” Gowon went on after Olivia didn’t reply. “Yves will be ou-...”

When Gowon opened her eyes and glanced at Olivia, wondering why she’d become so silent, she flinched at the sight. Olivia was staring at her, eyes dark.

“She was distraught?” Olivia repeated slowly.

“Olivia, w-what-,”

Olivia suddenly grabbed Gowon’s collar, and yanked her neck towards her. Olivia's breath was on Gowon’s cheek, hot and uncomfortable, but Gowon knew she had to keep her face steady. She stated Olivia in the eye, despite her pupils trembling.

“Liar.” Olivia snarled. “You’re lying to me. Why would Yves be distraught that we got in a fight?”

“It’s the truth.” Gowon said firmly, and Olivia yanked at her collar again.

“Shut the fuck up!” Olivia spat. “You know, right? You know everything about what I’m gonna do?”

“...I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Gowon mumbled.

“I worked fucking hard for this.” Olivia sneered. “I worked really fucking hard to make this work. You guys… aren’t satisfied with me playing the nice guy, so I won’t play it anymore. I’ll force you guys into doing what I want. I’ll beat you, and torture you, and do… whatever I want.”

“I heard colors couldn’t feel pain.” Gowon said, trying not to tremble.

“But these vessels can.” Olivia grinned. She yanked on Gowon’s collar a final time. “Get in my way, Gowon. Get in my way. Test my patience. You’ll see what’ll happen to you.”

“You’re threatening me now?” Gowon scoffed.

There was a malicious gleam in Olivia’s eyes. “What? What’s wrong? I acted nice for you before. That day in the woods… that was me being fucking nice. But you didn’t like that. So now I’m rough, and you don’t like it either? What do you like, Gowon?”

Gowon was silent. She didn’t dare egg on Olivia- any response she made to that would surely put _someone_ in danger no matter what she said.

“Answer me!” Olivia shouted.

“I like pineapples!” Gowon snapped. 

“...” Olivia’s lips twitched, and she let out a laugh, as though Gowon were being ridiculous. “Pineapples? _Pineapples?_ I didn’t mean it literally, you dumb bitch.”

“I meant it.” Gowon shrugged. “You asked what I liked. There’s your answer.”

Olivia’s face darkened. “Shut the fuck up before I kill you.”

“What now, Olivia? Are we gonna sit like this forever?” Gowon sighed. “If you let me go, are you gonna tag behind me in case I go blabbering to Chuu and Vivi? Or will you really kill me? Olivia… I hear it’s nearly impossible to kill a Color.”

“...Every one’s always saying that I can’t.” Olivia was quiet. “Can’t do this, can’t do that. Why can't I? Why can't I touch Vivi? Why can't I mess with her? Why can’t I get you to believe me? Why can’t I force you to follow me? Why is it that everyone… thinks I can’t?”

“Because you can’t.” Gowon said bluntly. “Because it’s true, Olivia. There’s limits to what you can do, not only physically but _morally._ ”

“Colors have morality now?” Olivia snickered. She let go of Gowon’s collar, and Gowon tried her best not to rub her neck in pain. Olivia got up soundlessly, and as though nothing happened, walked away.

 _Shit._ Gowon closed her eyes. _We have to leave… now._

Night had fallen, and Gowon gathered Vivi and Yves in the woods, wanting to talk to them about their strategy. Yves had no response, despite willingly going with Gowon and escaping through the balcony with them. Vivi stood far away from Yves, unwilling to speak to her. She was giving Gowon a kind look, though.

“Do you guys have any ideas?” Gowon asked.

Vivi and Yves were quiet.

Gowon sighed. _Damn it, Yves! You couldn’t have picked a better time to confess to Vivi?_

“Well, I was thinking that we could leave Vivi stranded.” Gowon suggested, taking in a sharp breath. Yves looked up at Gowon in alarm, then glanced at Vivi as though Gowon had already decided on ditching her somewhere far away.

“Leave me stranded?” Vivi echoed, always open minded.

“Olivia’s main target is you, right? If you’re left all alone and seeming like you’re trying to runaway, it’ll be like a deer in a wolf’s territory.” Gowon said. “Totally vulnerable.”

“How will we get her in time?” Yves refuted. “This is stupid. We should think of something else.”

“Well… Vivi could start running.” Gowon suggested.

“Running?” Yves’ eyes were cold, as though she thought Gowon was messing around about something so serious. 

“Deer run pretty fast, right? It’ll be like some kind of chase.” Gowon went on. “Vivi just… has to outrun her.”

“Outrun her? Till what point?” Yves scoffed. “This… it’s a joke, right? You’re just joking around?”

“Well, she’d have to run until the border.” Gowon said. “We’ll wait for her there.”

“This doesn’t make sense. We want to get out without Olivia noticing, right? So why are we baiting Vivi?” Yves crossed her arms.

“Enough.” Vivi sighed, glaring at Yves. “Why do you refute everything she says? Let her speak…”

Yves looked away. Gowon sighed too.

“We don’t have to wait at the border. While Vivi is the bait, she can run around and distract Olivia while we run away with Chuu.” Gowon suggested. “That way, we can all get out safely.”

“But Vivi won’t be safe.” Yves muttered. 

“Gowon, I think this is a good plan, but won’t Olivia notice something strange if I’m all alone?” Vivi asked. “And once she does start chasing me, won’t she know we’re trying to escape?”

“No, I… Oh! Why don’t you and Yves have a fight?” Gowon brightened up. “Everyone will be there to watch, and Vivi can run off after Yves makes her mad enough!”

Vivi and Yves were quiet. Then, Vivi spoke up. “I think it’s a good plan.”

“Vivi!” Yves gaped, looking to her with a pained expression.

“It’s fine.” Vivi shook her head. “This is the best we have right now.”

“Right?” Gowon nodded firmly. “Deer run fast. They usually outrun wolves, right?”

“But Vivi’s not a deer. And Olivia’s not a wolf.” Yves insisted. “I won’t do it. If it means putting Vivi in danger, then the plan is pointless to me.”

“Then what do you suggest we do?” Gowon asked. 

“I don’t know. I don’t care either. If we started running now we could probably get out without Olivia noticing.” Yves shrugged.

“But we need to bring Chuu.” Vivi intervened.

“Really, unnie?” Yves whipped around to stare at her. “You really think Chuu cares about you? All that hugging you and being sweet- it’s a fucking act. Chuu doesn’t give a shit about you.”

“Right. You would be the one to know everything about Chuu.” Vivi mumbled, and the retort was so cruel that it surprised both Yves and Gowon. 

“What?” Yves laughed, face reddening with anger. “You think Chuu is anymore innocent than me? You think she was kissing me completely unaware that we were together, Vivi?!”

“Can we even say that we were really together at this rate?” Vivi said beneath her breath, looking to the ground, and the deep hurt in Yves eyes went unnoticed by Vivi. “Chuu must’ve been with you because she knew… she knew what we had was fake.”

“Fake?” Yves sounded devastated. Gowon felt a bit of pity for Yves. Vivi was _really_ driving it into the wound- she forgot any means of virtue as she cruelly confronted Yves.

“You think what we had was fake?” Yves asked again.

“What I felt was real.” Vivi said. “But I don’t think what you felt was real. I really loved you Yves, so it- it really-..”

Vivi choked up. She closed her eyes, and Gowon could tell she was trying hard not to cry. Yves, on the other hand, was staring at Vivi as though she had torn apart her entire world.

“Loved?” Yves echoed, her hands trembling. “R-...Really… Really loved… loved me...?”

“I don’t know, Yves.” Vivi sighed. “I’m not sure about anything right now.”

Vivi looked up to Gowon. “The plan. I’ll do it. You want to distract Olivia so we can get away with Chuu, right?”

“Right.” Gowon smiled. “You always get me.”

“Then I’ll do it. I want us to be safe. All of us.” Vivi said. She turned to Yves. “...Yves, I-,”

“You wanna do this?” Yves asked, looking at Vivi with an aching expression.

“It’s all that I can do.” Vivi told her, but didn’t meet her gaze. Gowon wished Vivi would have met her gaze, at least once throughout that whole conversation- maybe seeing the expression on her face would Vivi be able to understand Yves. But, at the least, they’d come to an agreement.

“When should we do this?” Vivi prompted.

Gowon looked up at the spindly thickage of thin branches and gray leaves above them. One of the moons peered through effortlessly, watching their every move.

“Vivi, you say that you can feel your pull with the moon grow the strongest on certain nights, right? What night… is that pull the weakest?” 

There were certain nights where the pulls would be undoubtedly weak. Any time Kim Lip and Jinsol were far apart, the moon’s pull grew incredibly weak, and the full moon was practically a thread of a pull with them apart. Vivi asked Gowon and Yves not to put faith in this idea, since it was hard for Kim Lip to be away from Jinsol. The moon’s pull was random, Vivi advised, and this plan would have to be executed whenever they felt the moon’s pull was weak. Yves and Gowon discovered they both had an odd question- how would they know when the moon’s pull was weakest? How… did they know what the moon’s pull even felt like?

As though it were a silently made pact, they didn’t dare to ask Vivi. For some reason, it felt as though if they asked, Vivi wouldn’t react positively. They didn’t want to feel any _more_ estranged from Vivi’s perception of the world than they already were. So, they kept quiet. It was pointless to kick up trouble now.

It was a quiet night. It had only been a few days after their meeting in the woods, and nothing extreme had happened. Vivi’s attitude with Olivia only worsened, which was putting a damper on their plan. She acted so coldly, that Olivia often stared after her with icy glares as though she were suspicious of something. Gowon sent Yves to tell Vivi to act a bit better around her. Yves didn’t protest. Secretly, she was happy to have any excuse to see Vivi one on one.

Yves jogged up the winding stair case of the mansion, feeling warmth grow in her chest. Excitement was building up. What would she say to Vivi? 

_Should I knock? Or should I open the door? Would she like it if I opened the door? Or should I call for her?_ Yves was feeling jittery. She couldn’t help but smile. It had truly been a while since she’d spoken to Vivi- ever since their little meeting in the woods, Yves and Vivi hadn’t spoken to each other. They really hadn’t spoken to each other before that time either… Yves would often stare after Vivi and watch her from afar, but it wasn’t the same as actually touching or talking ot her. Yves suddenly felt something surge in her stomach, eyes widening. Would she actually be able to… touch Vivi? She imagined reaching for her hand, or gently pushing away Vivi’s hair from her face, a blush forming on her cheeks. When she snapped out of her thoughts, she realized she was already in front of Vivi’s door.

Yves...knocked on the door. It was a quiet knock, and Yves felt small as she waited. Then, she lifted her head. From inside Vivi’s room, she could hear gentle laughter and sweet sounds. Yves’ face fell. Who was she with? Why did she sound so happy?

Yves was about to slam open the door until she froze.  
 _Do I even have the right to be jealous?_

Yves had told Vivi that she’d betrayed her and immediately expected to be forgiven. Wasn’t it… too much to open the door and get angry with Vivi having fun with someone else? 

Yves let go of the door. She took in a deep breath, then knocked again. “Vivi!” She called too. “Unnie, are you in there?”

(She’d picked up the habit of calling her unnie from Gowon not too long ago. She’d switch in between calling her Vivi and “unnie” frequently). 

The room of gentle laughter grew silent. There was a pad of feet, and Yves let a little smile grow once she recognized whose feet they were.

Vivi opened the door, her eyes serious. She knew who was calling for her already, so she stood warily. Yves hated that she didn’t open the door and look eager to see her, just as Yves had been, but… But things would heal with time, right? They just needed to do this now, and they’d figure out everything once they were out of Eden.

“Unnie,” Yves began, eyes softening at the sight of Vivi. She was so close…

“ _Quiet._ ” She mouthed. 

“Vivi, is that Yves?”

Chuu was in there! The bitter jealousy Yves had worked so hard to push down was boiling up again. She grit her teeth, holding back her words. 

“Yes, it’s Yves.” Vivi agreed hesitantly. Vivi gave Yves a stern look, perhaps to warn her against being mean to Chuu, before stepping aside to let her come in.

Chuu looked up, meeting Yves’ gaze. Yves’ face hardened once their eyes met, and Chuu looked away, hurt. It had been a long time since Yves had come face to face with Chuu. Her poor feelings towards her… friend had not faded. 

“I thought you weren’t talking to Yves.” Chuu mumbled, staring at her hands.

“I’m not.” Vivi assured. She looked to Chuu with a soft face. “Chuu, Yves and I have… something really important to discuss. Would it be alright if you could leave us alone for a moment?”

Vivi and Yves didn’t notice it, but Chuu’s right hand, tucked neatly beneath her left, was balled into a tight, white fist. She’d begun to chew the inside of her cheek, the metallic taste of blood on her tongue.

To Chuu, it felt as though Vivi were telling her to get the hell out. She was convinced she could see the malice in Vivi’s eyes.

But what could she do? She had to follow Olivia’s orders.

“Of course.” Chuu said quietly, and obediently ducked her head as she walked out of the room. Carefully, she shut the door, and turned her back to it. Face red with anger, she walked off until she was sure she was out of Yves and Vivi’s ear shots, and let out an ear curdling scream. She collapsed to the floor and slammed her fist onto the stone ground, hitting it ruthlessly until the skin broke from the force and bled onto the ground. Chuu grit her teeth, seething, and clawed at the floor before slamming her forehead onto the ground. How… How could she have let Yves out of her grasp so easily?

How had this even began? 

If Chuu recalled correctly, just a few days before Vivi had come, Chuu had asked Yves what a date was. They were lounging on Chuu’s bed, staring up at the ceiling that loomed a thousand feet about from them.

“A date…” Yves mused. “I read about it once. It’s when two people who are interested in each other… go to a special place to know more about each other? A special place to eat?”

“They call it a restaurant?” Chuu suggested the word, stumbling over it.

“In the book I read, the two people went to a forest and had a picnic.” Yves said, scratching her cheek.

“Really? The book I read must be wrong, then! Yves, you should lend me your book some time!” Chuu insisted, and she hadn’t noticed the uncomfortable look Yves had given her. In fact, to her, that was a look of amusement.

“...Sure. It’s a good one.” Yves nodded.

“Why don’t we go to the forest and have a picnic?” Chuu suggested in excitement, cheeks rosy. “We- We can go and- it’ll be like going… on a date….?”

(Yves didn’t need to do much about keeping “Chuu close to her”. Chuu was already set on doing my that herself. All that Yves could do was play along until the fated day that “Light Pink” would be sent to Eden- then she’d flirt with Chuu and put in some real work. Right now was just… uncomfortable.)

“That sounds great, Chuu.” Yves smiled. “When should we go?” 

They spent a pretty time together that evening, eating fruits and laying beneath the trees. Chuu put her head on Yves’ chest, and Yves put her arm around Chuu. Chuu’s heart almost exploded out of her rib cage. She hugged Yves in excitement, squeezing her close and squealing. 

“Did you have a good time?” Yves asked gently, patting Chuu’s head.

“I did!” Chuu squeaked. She hugged Yves tighter, if that were… even possible. “I wish we could go on dates every day!”

Yves was silent. Then, “I wish we could go on dates every day too.”

To Yves, Chuu was nothing more than a cute friend. She had no interest in her. But to Chuu, these offhanded, almost forced comments of affection were everything. To her, they meant the world- In reality, Yves had truly been Chuu’s entire world. Since their creation, and since the start of their time, Chuu had been infatuated with Yves. From the moment she’d first set eyes on Yves, she knew she was different. She was… _gorgeous._ When Chuu first met Yves, she’d been a light pink color, and that color still followed Yves around to this day. Chuu couldn’t see this color on anyone else, or any colors at all on anyone else, so she decided that it must be fate. She must be the one who can see the _true_ Yves- she must be something like her soulmate!

Even after a year, the thought still excited her. As they lay beneath the thin foliage of the gray trees, covered by an equally gray sky, Chuu felt that nothing could be better in the world.

That was, until, Vivi.

Olivia had told them they’d have a new arrival in Eden. She warned that Vivi might say a few strange things, and told the girls that they should be patient and try to teach her how things worked in Eden. Chuu was quite excited. She also reminded them about their colors- Heejin was their creator after all, and they all had their own colors. Vivi would believe this as well. The girls listened with strange faces. What did she mean by colors? They knew Heejin had created them, and knew somewhat about their origins as “colors”, but not enough to know simple things like they were inside vessels or that their true forms were masses of light. Only Chuu could make some sense of this- she was the only one that could see Color.

 _But I won’t be able to see Vivi’s color. I’ll only be able to see Yves! Forever and always!_ Chuu chided loyally in her head. 

“Just...play along.” Olivia told them.

It had been total excitement the days before Vivi arrived. Gowon was happily setting up clothes and fixing up Vivi’s room for her arrival. It was a happy time- Chuu could only remember a single strange part about it.

The night before Vivi’s arrival, Chuu had overheard Olivia and Yves in the kitchen. Olivia was… Telling Yves word for word what she should say when meeting Vivi.

Vivi came. Chuu could see her color clearly. Actually, Vivi’s color was _light pink._

Just upon meeting, this fact had infuriated Chuu. How dare she have the same, pure color as Yves? That color belonged to Yves, and Yves only! The confusion of it all only added to Chuu’s anger. Chuu saw only Yves’ color and no one else’s because Yves was her one and only. She could only see Yves’ color because they were soulmates! But now, here this random person was, who was the _exact same color as Yves._

Chuu… pushed it away. She decided to be nice to Vivi instead. Vivi was sweet. She was pure. Chuu got along well with her the first few days of her arrival, but Vivi was always saying things that pissed Chuu the fuck off.

One night, she and Vivi were reading side by side, sitting in front of the castle on the lush grass. Yves was coming out with Olivia to head to the chicken coop, and they noticed the pair by the castle. Yves waved to them, and Olivia spared them a glance before they walked away.

“Yves’ color is so beautiful.” Vivi remarked. “It’s like a deep, dark color. I’ve never seen burgundy in my life… it’s just gorgeous!”

Yves didn’t have a fucking deep dark color. She had the exact same color as Vivi had. 

“Yes! It’s so gorgeous!” Chuu smiled brightly, and forced the words through her teeth. 

Chuu didn’t mind Vivi’s stupid comments or her ability to see colors. She also tried her best to ignore Vivi’s long spewls about the Middle Earth and Red and Blue and whatever the hell she thought of. 

But she did mind that Yves seemed to care about her Vivi was saying.

Whenever Yves and Vivi walked off, Chuu would follow. At first, Yves seemed to be interested in nothing else but flirting with Vivi- like it was some sort of pass time. Chuu convinced herself that Yves was just coming onto Vivi as practice for flirting with Chuu, because Yves would often use the same pick up lines on both of them. Then, it was like… Yves’ feelings progressed. Chuu stalked them everywhere, so she would know. Yves seemed to take a liking to Vivi. Chuu, of course, deluded herself into believing it wasn’t true.

But one day, Yves and Vivi scaled down the side of the castle. Chuu quickly raced down the stairs, and made it in time to see Vivi petting some deer. Chuu had never seen a deer before- if it were not so similar to Vivi, Chuu would’ve thought it was beautiful. In that moment, she thought that deer was repulsive. 

Yves had called to Vivi with an anxious look that Chuu had never seen on her face before. Vivi, who’d always been in love with Yves, stood up and looked to Yves with such a mystical expression that Chuu felt like tearing out her eyes. Vivi abandoned the deer, and ran towards Yves- not only did they hug, but Yves picked her up. Vivi put her arms around Yves’ neck, and looked so fucking happy as she spoke to her. Yves then put her face into Vivi’s shoulder, and walked them back to the castle.

Chuu was filled to the brim with a jealous rage. She breathed heavily, vision spotting as she curled her fists into the grass. Her eyes darted around manically as though to find some escape to this hell of emotions- then, she locked eyes with that deer, still frozen it’s spot. _That deer,_ Chuu reckoned with a sick feeling, a grin creeping on her face as she began to approach the deer. _Must be waiting for Vivi to return._

Yves ignored Chuu after that. That night was some sort of defining point in her relationship with Vivi, Chuu knew. It seemed Yves had realized where her priorities truly lay. She didn’t even speak to her. Chuu had done all she could- begged her, seduced her, listed reasons as to why Yves should come back to her, but nothing mattered. Yves wouldn’t even listen. Chuu realized she had done everything but one, simple thing. 

Threaten her.

Chuu held Yves by the throat that night, pressing her against the wall. Yves was staring up at the ceiling, laughing strangely due to the tight hold around her throat.

“Why do you keep laughing?!” Chuu had shrieked, tightening her hold around Yves’ throat. Yves just laughed more.

“This… T-This is what will happen to Vivi if you don’t come back to me!” Chuu shrilled. “I’ll cut her up! I’ll tear her limb to limb! She- I’ll _fucking slaughter her!_ ”

Yves stopped laughing. Then, she chortled again. 

“Why do you keep fucking laughing?!” Chuu screamed, stomping her feet.

“Vivi told me…” Yves gasped, coughing. “Vivi told me that you remind her of a penguin.” 

“That’s what you’re laughing about?!” Chuu slammed Yves’ head against the wall. “Vivi?! You’re laughing about _Vivi?!_ ” 

“Not about.” Yves corrected. “ _Because_ of Vivi. Ah, let go of me, Chuu. It’s starting to get annoying.”

Chuu puffed up her cheeks in fury until her face had gone from red to white, and she let go of Yves, fingers still stiff and trembling.

“Choking me while trying to convince me to love you?” Yves laughed weakly, rubbing at her throat. “Chuu, I love you alright. Let’s just leave it at that. Let’s pretend…. this didn’t happen.”

Chuu stood there, before Yves, as though she’d been stripped bare. She felt as though everything had gone on display for Yves to see. Any other time, she would’ve loved to do that- but now? It felt like Yves was… laughing at her. Ridiculing her.

_All… because of Vivi._

“So that’s what they’re doing.” Olivia laughed. These days, Olivia looked sick. Her face had sunken in, and her hair seemed to be thinning. There was a red glint in her eyes- Chuu couldn’t tell if it was natural or not.

They were laying on Olivia’s bed. Chuu had finished telling Olivia of Gowon’s latest idea to use Vivi as bait for Olivia as they got away, after Chuu had returned from being kicked out of Vivi’s room so she could speak “privately” with Yves.

“It’s stupid.” Olivia said. “It’s really the worst thing they could’ve thought of. So many other options… they could’ve left while I was asleep. Or locked me up when I was asleep.”

“But you don’t sleep!” Chuu pointed out.

Olivia shrugged. “I did three days ago. They could’ve done it then. They could’ve done… so many things other than this. Why’d they pick this plan?”

“They want to take me with them.” Chuu said. “They think this is the only way.”

“What? They wanna leave me here all on my own?” Olivia laughed, then fell into a long silence. “...Even Gowon doesn’t want me to go?”

“Gowon… suggested this plan.” Chuu told her awkwardly. “You like Gowon, don’t you Olivia?”

Olivia was quiet again, staring up at the ceiling with wide eyes and a small frown. The more she stared, the angrier her face became.

“Olivia, what are you gonna do?” Chuu asked, and Olivia shifted to look at Chuu. 

“What do you think I should do?” She asked, expression blank.

Chuu, for a second, was surprised. _No one’s really ever asked me what I want._

For a brief second, she thought about Vivi. Just yesterday, Vivi had hugged Chuu and asked what fruits she wanted to eat. Chuu smiled for a moment. Vivi had asked her what she wanted. Olivia wasn’t the first.

Without further hesitation, Chuu answered Olivia’s question. 

The next day, Vivi woke Gowon and Yves up early. Yves was briefly elated to see Vivi first thing in the morning, and even smiled at her.

“Hey.” She greeted softly.

“The moon’s pull.” Vivi said seriously. “It’s weak tonight!”

“Weak?” Yves rasped, rubbing her eyes. “Where’s Gowon?”

“Downstairs making breakfast. I already woke her up and told her.” Vivi assured her. “Olivia and Chuu are asleep. We should hurry!”

“Alright.” Yves was wide awake now. “Should I pack anything?”

Vivi… Had a gentle look on her face. For some reason, Yves didn’t feel like Vivi’s calm expression was one she’d be wearing on a day like this. 

“No.” Vivi shook her head. “It’ll be easier to just go without anything. Kim Lip and Jinsol will take care of us once we go.”

Vivi seemed so strange today. She didn’t give Yves a single cold look. Well, that’s because they’d talked for a while the night before of how things would go the day of- so things were at least a bit better between them. But even last night, Vivi had been cold and stood far away from Yves. Today, she was so close- her hand hovered close to Yves’ arm.

Yves… couldn’t help it. She reached up and took Vivi’s hand in hers, giving her a tender look.

“Vivi, things are gonna be fine today.” Yves told her. “I promise you nothing bad will happen. So don’t… Act like something will.”

“Nothing bad’s gonna happen.” Vivi agreed, shaking her head. “I’m just… in a good mood.” 

Yves and Vivi stayed like that for a long time. Then, Vivi cupped Yves’ face, leaned down and kissed her.

“Good enough to kiss me?” Yves asked against her lips, eyes closed as she relished in the moment. It had truly been too long.. Yves had been longing for her lover’s touch like this for weeks now. “I thought we weren’t on touching-terms.”

“We aren’t.” Vivi laughed, and pressed another kiss to her lips. “I still haven’t forgiven you.”

“So why kiss me?” Yves asked, slipping her fingers into Vivi’s hair. She took in a deep breath, but didn’t feel at ease. 

“Just in case.” Vivi whispered in a sigh.

“Vivi, I already told you nothing bad’s gonna happen.” Yves said firmly, pulling away from her to give her a hard look. “So don’t… kiss me if you haven’t forgiven me. You still have to be angry at me for at least a few more months, then I can beg for your forgiveness and we can go back to being on touching-terms.”

“...Even now you say stupid things.” Vivi scoffed, and fell into laughter.

Yves met Gowon downstairs. 

“Doesn’t today feel weird?” Yves asked her quietly, helping her set the table.

“Super weird. Vivi would’ve felt the weak pull coming or whatever, right? She would’ve told us days ago when this weak pull day was.” Gowon said, her permanently expressionless face growing worried. “Why now, all of a sudden? Isn’t it too convenient?”

“It is.” Yves sighed. “It’s way too convenient. And… And she kissed me just now.”

Gowon dropped the cup she was placing on the table, and it shattered at her feet. She stared at Yves in shock. “ _Kissed you?!_ Vivi doesn’t even want anything to do with you!”

“That’s what I’m saying!” Yves insisted. “It’s weird! I don’t wanna do this today, Gowon. We should hold it off until… Until it doesn’t feel so weird.”

“I know. I know, but we can’t just let our chances go.” Gowon sighed. “It might just be Vivi worrying about something going wrong. If we make it, this weird feeling will be gone, and we’ll be out of Eden and in Middle Earth.”

“Right.” Yves sighed. “Right…”

Chuu, Olivia and Vivi came down for breakfast, and Vivi was already sending signals to start the fake-fight. Gowon and Yves ignored them relentlessly. Shouldn’t they be going at night? It felt wrong to go the first thing in the morning! 

Chuu and Olivia talked casually, completely unaware of the situation. Yves finally grew frustrated to the point where she slammed her hands down on the table.

“Vivi, let’s talk.” Yves muttered.

“What are you sending signs right now for?! It’s early!” Yves hissed once they were out of earshot.

“It’s not early.” Vivi insisted. “It’s really the perfect time! The brighter the daylight, the weaker the moon!”

“Is that true?” Yves asked helplessly. “Vivi, why are will you doing this? Why are you rushing to the point that we can’t even wait a little? It… Unnie, none of this feels right.”

Vivi pressed her hand against Yves’ cheek, and Yves didn’t have the heart to turn her head away.

“Unnie, remember? Only touch me when you mean it.” Yves pleaded with her, but Vivi only shook her head.

“It’s the right time.” Vivi swore. “Yves, I’m only saying this because… Because… I feel like if we wait around any longer, Gowon will be in danger. Last night, I talked to Olivia, and she kept telling me about how she couldn’t believe how much time Gowon spends away from her. Yves, I just don’t feel right waiting around. Besides, the time is right, so why not go? We’ll be safe and everything will be fine once we make it out of Eden!”

Yves knew she was lying. But Vivi looked like she’d die if they didn’t go now, so what could Yves do? She pressed her cheek against the palm of Vivi’s hand. “Alright.” Yves said softly. “I’m gonna start yelling at you now, okay? Just… let me hold you.”

Vivi nodded, and opened her arms. Yves wrapped her arms around Vivi’s waist, and put her chin on Vivi’s shoulder. She inhaled her scent deeply, feeling as though this really could be the last time. Then, she slammed her hand against the wall.

“I can’t fucking believe you’re still looking at Chuu while I’m right across from you!” Yves shouted, pressing her cheek on Vivi’s shoulder now.

“Why should it matter that I’m looking at Chuu?” Vivi shot back. She didn’t yell, and Yves almost smiled. Vivi was a good actor- She knew that she rarely raised her voice. “You didn’t seem to care about that when you were screwing around with her.” 

“I’m sorry.” Yves whispered, and kissed Vivi’s ear. She turned her head away before shouting again. “What does this have to do with anything?! I already told you why I was with Chuu, but you don’t fucking believe anything I say!”

Vivi pushed Yves away from her, hiding her face as she ran down the hall. “I do believe what you say! You- you’re just so quick to assume things, Yves, you’re so stubborn and hard headed that it’s hard to even talk to you!”

“Vivi, where are you going?” Yves barked, storming after her. “Vivi!”

Right in front of the dining table, Yves grabbed Vivi’s wrist and whirled her around. Yves’ face fell- “You’re crying?”

“Why do you care?” Vivi spat. She glanced at Olivia, Chuu and Gowon, and let out a heaving breath. “Let’s not do this here.”

“Why can’t we do it here?” Yves insisted, but she was wiping the tears away from Vivi’s face. “Never mind. Never mind, forget it, just- just tell me why you’re crying, unnie.”

Yves hugged Vivi, and Vivi struggled in her hold. “Stop acting.” Yves whispered painfully. “Why… Why are you crying?”

“Let go of me!” Vivi sobbed, and finally managed to push Yves away. She tripped over herself before running out of the kitchen, sprinting down the hall.

Yves wanted desperately to go after her- until she looked back at the dining table. There was a pale look on Gowon’s face, and Chuu was sitting in her seat, gnawing at her nails as she stared off. Her leg bounced restlessly beneath the table. Olivia was… sitting back in her chair. She had a smirk on her face, her eyes half lidded. It was as though she were enjoying watching this unfold.

“Fuck this!” Yves shouted, and she meant it. She didn’t care about this stupid plan anyways- Vivi was crying all alone! She took off, but before she could make it down the hall, Gowon had caught her.

“Yves! It’s working!” Gowon panted. “She- Olivia opened the window and ran out after Vivi!”

“Then what are we doing here?!” Yves spat. “We have to go! _Now!_ ”

“But- But Chuu!” Gowon protested.

“Chuu doesn’t matter. She doesn’t care about us at all/ she’s fucking crazy!” Yves shook her head. She grabbed Gowon’s hand. “We have to go!”

“We can’t leave without Chuu!” Gowon’s eyes were tearing up. Why was Gowon even getting emotional?! She knew that Chuu was no good either- so why tear up and whine about bringing her along? Yves’ head was about to explode! 

“Gowon, don’t do this now!” Yves warned. “If this really worked, Vivi’s out there crying somewhere- She was fucking crying for real! She must not even think Olivia followed her!”

“Then we have to come back!” Gowon pressed, bursting into tears. “We have to bring Jinsol and Kim Lip and come back to get her.”

Yves didn’t know how to tell her that Chuu _really didn’t give a shit about her._ But now wasn’t the time for truths to be revealed- now was the time to get the hell out of there.

“Okay. Okay! We will!” Yves promised. “Now let’s go!” 

They ran out. Vivi was supposed to meet with them at the barrier, and they’d all go out together. The barrier wasn’t necessarily meant to keep out colors- they could lean over or phase through easily. It was meant to keep everything else out- but that’s not what Olivia told them, so it’s not what they believed until Vivi showed them. In conclusion, they’d be able to cross with ease- they just had to run their asses off to find the opening that lead to the Middle Earth.

“Keep going!” Gowon cried, wiping her tears.

“Where’s Vivi? Did you see her?” Yves cried.

“No! Just look forward!” Gowon insisted. “We have to trust her. We have to trust she’ll be there!”

 _If we put this blind faith in her… Who knows what could happen._ Yves, of course, trusted Vivi with everything. But this was not about trust and promises- this was about their life and their death. If Vivi couldn’t outrun Olivia, then they’d all be killed along with her.

They made it into the woods, and the glimmering outline of the barrier was in their sights. 

“There it is!” Gowon cheered, and pushed forward.

“Vivi’s not there!” Yves yelled.

“She could be at a different spot.” Gowon panted. “We’ll just meet when we’re all out!”

“Gowon!” Yves shouted as the neared the border. “Gowon, stop! You- Vivi’s not coming!”

Gowon slowed down, then pressed her hands to her knees, bent over. 

“You think I don’t know that?” Gowon sobbed. “You idiot… Of course she isn’t coming!” 

Yves froze. “What?”

Gowon whipped around, looking at Yves. Her face was scrunched up, red and tear streaked as she sobbed out, “She sacrificed herself for us to escape! You didn’t notice it?”

Yves almost vomited where she stood. Her ears began to ring- she wasnt aware of anything else besides the fact that Vivi was going to die if she couldn’t make it in time. Yves vaguely noticed she was running- she noticed her feet were aching. She ran until the foliage broke, and she was out of the woods. She stumbled, swaying on her feet as she looked around. The ringing in her ears had grown so loud that she could barely hear anything else, and that her head began to spin with the unbearable noise.

 _Vivi…_ Yves turned to her left. Across the field of grass, Olivia Hye was grabbing onto Vivi’s ankle. Vivi fell onto the floor, and Yves could see her struggling to get away.

“Sacrifice my ass!” Yves yelled it out loud, but couldn’t hear it. She kicked her feet up, and started to run as quickly as she could to Vivi. “Vivi! _Vivi!_ ”

Vivi looked up. Yves could see her calling for her, but she couldn’t hear it. She couldn’t hear anything. Yves felt as though the whole world were turning sideways- she pushed herself, running faster, but there was a heavy feeling in her stomach.

She wouldn’t be able to make it in time.

Yves tried to spot Vivi and Olivia in her slanted word, and she could see, albeit vaguely, Olivia’s hand diving into Vivi’s stomach. Yves was too far away. She watched Olivia tear Vivi apart, cell by cell, but she was too far away.

Suddenly, a piercing cry broke through Yves’ sickly barrier of endless ringing. 

“ _Yves!_ ” Vivi was still calling for her.

“Vivi!” Yves sobbed, and she was still running towards her. “Vivi, get up! _Get up!_ ”

“Yves, run!” Vivi cried, and let out a wail of pain. “G-Get away from here! Olivia, she’ll-...”

Olivia drove her hand a final time into Vivi’s stomach, and Vivi let out a blood curdling scream. 

“ _Vivi!_ ” Yves screamed in horror, feeling her knees grow weak. In Olivia Hye’s hand, there was a beautiful color of light pink. In Olivia Hye’s hand, there seemed to be a dark energy surrounding the color, infesting it until it broke and shattered in Olivia Hye’s hand. In Olivia Hye’s hand, Vivi had been killed. 

There was a blinding light that seemed to envelop the entire world, and even when it dimmed a bit, the light was still blinding to the point it would make your eyes bleed to see through it.

Yves made it to Vivi’s side. She collapsed to the ground, and crawled towards her. The world was still slanting to the side, and the ring in her ears had not yet gone away, but she could see the lifeless look on Vivi’s face clearly. Yves cupped her dead face in her hands, and let out a gross sob.

“Unnie!” Yves wailed. “Unnie, wake up! Vivi, please, I-,”

Yves let out a grotesque sob. Behind her, Olivia was talking to someone, but Yves couldn’t quite make it out. She kissed Vivi’s cheek, caressing her face and opening her eye lids as though it would really awaken her, but nothing seemed to work. Yves cried out in frustration through gritted teeth, and gathered the shredded Vivi in her arms. 

“Vivi, I’m sorry.” Yves wept, rocking her in her hold. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve ran away with you when I saw you. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry….” 

“Wake up!” Yves screamed again, and shook the corpse. “ _Wake up!_ ” 

“I can’t live without you, unnie.” Yves cried helplessly, lowering her face into Vivi’s bloodied chest. “I can’t live without you, so you have to wake up… You have to…” 

There was a shattering noise that sounded in Yves’ ears, sending echoes into her ear drums- then, there was another injury inducing flash of light. For days to come, this would be the aftermath of Vivi’s death, and for days to come, Yves would stay laying beside the body of her lover, blinded by the light and completely unable to hear.

_“What do you want me to do?” She asked, expression blank._

_Chuu, for a second, was surprised._ No one’s really ever asked me what I want.

_For a brief second, she thought about Vivi. Just yesterday, Vivi had hugged Chuu and asked what fruits she wanted to eat. Chuu smiled for a moment. Vivi had asked her what she wanted. Olivia wasn’t the first._

_Without further hesitation, Chuu answered Olivia’s question. “I want to kill her.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy New Years guys!!!!! sorry to keep everyone waiting- and sorry for the sad ending TT


	8. Chapter 8

The night before, Vivi had gone to Olivia’s bed room. Olivia readily invited her in, and invited Vivi to lay on the bed with her. It would be the last time they’d ever speak again, after all.

“You know... About tomorrow, don’t you?” Vivi asked after laying down, her shoulder pressed against Olivia’s.

“I do.” Olivia nodded.

“You agreed so easily.” Vivi scoffed, closing her eyes.

“You’ll die tomorrow no matter what happens.” Olivia said, but for some reason, no tension fell in the air. The mood was entirely peaceful.

“So you’ve been planning to kill me all along?”

“No. Chuu told me to kill you, so I’m gonna do that.”

“...”

Vivi broke out into laughter. Olivia glanced at her in confusion, and Vivi laughed until she was wiping tears from her eyes.

“Ah, God!” Vivi caught her breath. “Yves was right! Chuu really doesn’t care about me.”

“Nobody cares about you.” Olivia told her firmly, but Vivi didn’t care for what she had to say. Listening to Olivia was... a bit pointless.

“Tomorrow, I’ll let you kill me.” Vivi said. “I won’t put up a fight. I’ll just wait for you in the field.”

“I could kill you now.” Olivia said instead.

“If you wanted.” Vivi shrugged. “But... Promise you’ll let everyone live. You can do whatever you want with me, but... not the girls.”

“I can’t kill them.” Olivia said. “I’d die if I killed them.”

“Ha... So you care for them?” Vivi scoffed.

“I don’t give a shit what happens to them. They just can’t die because they’re my creations.” Olivia said. “I put my spiritual energy into their creations. Killing them would be destroying parts of me.”

“You created them?” For some reason, Vivi wasn’t shocked. The girls knew nothing about the moon’s powers, always seemed to forget what colors they were, and stared at Vivi blankly when she brought up anything related to Heejin’s creation. All except for.... “What about Yves?”

“Yves?” Olivia hummed. She smirked. “Yves is Heejin’s creation. She used to be light pink.”

“Until she was tainted with evil?” Vivi finished for her.

“You’re pretty smart.” Olivia laughed. “It’s thanks to me, right? I put you all to study your asses off so we can be better than Heejin’s colors.”

“I just know about creation and sin.” Vivi shook her head. 

“Love and evil.” Olivia replaced the two words.

“Then how about you? Are you Heejin’s creation?” Vivi asked, shifting her head to look at Olivia.

“I was born from Heejin’s shadow.” Olivia revealed it so casually that it felt like she was saying nothing out of the ordinary. “Heejin had a lot of life in her, you know? There were even things born from her glow. Worthless little creatures, but they were all alive.” 

“So how were you born?”

“I... Hated Heejin. I hated that she could leave behind her colors for centuries like it was nothing. I hated her obsession with Earth. I hated everything about her. But the thing I hated most was that she _ignored me._ When I gained consciousness, I tried to speak with Heejin, but she took one look at me and deemed me irrelevant. So one day... I split from her shadow. She thought I was evil, since I was black and represented that evil, so she and I fought. I obviously wasn’t strong enough. The only thing I have of strength is my connection to the moon, but that too was weak compared to Heejin’s.

Everything of mine... was minuscule compared to Heejin. We fought, and she banished me. I guess she meant to banish me to some sort of hell, but I managed to pull enough energy from the moon to try and change the direction, and wound up here. Heejin created Eden solely for you to be safe. Not just you, but Yves. She meant you both to be here together, watching over the universe and impeding any evils from happening. It was a great plan... she made you both very powerful too. Maybe if you and Yves had been here together from the start, the universe would’ve already regained its balance.” 

Vivi didn’t respond. She felt guilty, because for a moment, the thought of Vivi alone with Yves protecting the world together was a thought that she wished were true. Vivi shook it away quickly- if it had truly been just Yves and Vivi all along, there’d be no Chuu and Gowon to keep them company. Vivi, again, took back her thoughts. There’d be no _Gowon_ to live happily with them. 

“I’ll let them escape to the Middle Earth.” Olivia finally said. “Since you’re listening to my story, I’ll grant your wish. They’ll face worse when Kim Lip and Jinsol find them anyways.”

Gowon was running through the lush, tall grass, the greenery pressed flat beneath her black shoes. She wiped the tears from her eyes as she ran, but she didn’t necessarily need to. The wind was so harsh that it wiped them away for her. She had no idea where she was headed- there was no Vivi to lead the way.

_And there’ll never be Vivi to lead the way again._

Gowon pushed the thoughts away. If she could make it to the Odd Eyes in time, she’d be able to save Vivi and Yves. Or at least, they’d be able to salvage whatever was left of Vivi’s soul. Gowon had been running for a long time, but the house and the vast playground Vivi had described were no where to be seen. In fact, even the sky seemed a bit strange- a color of cobalt blue replaced Gowon’s perceptions of what Vivi had described the Middle Earth to be. Beyond this, Gowon was told there were three moons on the Middle Earth with no colors of blue, red, or purple- just a pale white. Here, there was no moon.

“It’s you?”

Gowon whirled around, trying to look for the origin of the voice. She spotted it- from far down the hill, there was a girl with brown hair down to her hips. She was stood perfectly straight, staring at her with a hand flat over her eyes to block them from the blinding sun. Her shorts were purple.

“Who are you?” Gowon called, feeling small in such an unfamiliar world.

“Are you the one who hid the ocean?” The sound of the girl’s voice was muffled by the wind. Gowon put her palm up against the wind to protect her face, and walked towards the girl. 

“Am I the one who hid the ocean?” Gowon called, and stopped a few feet before the girl. She decided this distance was safe enough to stand before her.

The girl had a round face, thin lips and wide eyes. She was pretty. 

“There’s Colors here. Their energy is either being drained from the absence of the moon, or someone is draining their energy.” The girl said. “You’re a Color too.”

“...Yes.” Gowon had truthfully forgotten her color. “What’s your name?”

The girl made a curious face, smiling. “You can’t see my color?”

“Of course I can! I just want to know your name.” Gowon insisted. 

“Choerry.” Choerry replied. She glanced up at the sky. “You’ve noticed there’s no moon here either, right? Do you know anything about that?”

“No, I- Is this the middle earth?” Gowon was getting tired of this mysterious banter with Choerry. “I have to find the Odd Eye Circle. My friends are in danger. I’m from, um, Eden?”

“You can’t see my color at all?” Choerry grinned. “I knew there were more colors out there. I had a feeling. But making your color is impossible with the current primaries. So, how about it? Are you feeling weak away from the moon?”

To be honest, Gowon was quite tired. She reckoned it was from the nonstop running and the exhausting events of the day, but never thought it had anything to do with the moon. “I had a long day.”

“Right. Eden, right? Isn’t Vivi there too?” Choerry asked, and Gowon’s face fell. There was no time for this pointless dawdling- Gowon had to see the Odd Eye Circle now!

“Vivi- Vivi’s in danger! No, it might be too late already- There’s five colors in Eden! Me, Chuu, Olivia, Yves and Vivi, and- and Olivia- Olivia, she killed Vivi’s vessel. I’m not sure if she’s found her soul yet, but she’s going to die if I don’t find the Odd Eyes and _soon!_ Not soon, now!” Gowon cried.

Choerry’s care free face became serious. “I’m apart of the Odd Eye Circle. I’ll take you to see Kim Lip and Jinsol, but you have to tell me what my color is.”

“Uh- I-...” Gowon was at a loss for words. “Purple?”

Choerry narrowed her eyes. “There’s no time to waste. You’re lucky I thought of bringing my cherries with me.”

Choerry ran to Gowon, and grabbed her wrist. Choerry reached into her pocket, and pulled out a small bag. Inside, two bitten cherries that seemed a day old were sitting. Choerry took one out, and looked to Gowon.

“Don’t let go of me.” Choerry advised. “Even when we faint, you can’t let go of my hand.”

Gowon nodded firmly, eyes teary. “Alright!”

Choerry bit into the cherry, and fell over, cherries falling to the floor. Gowon followed her, falling over too- there was a sharp ringing in her ear, and Gowon jerked her eyes open. It felt as though she’d been asleep for months!

Choerry was quiet. She sat up, her face a pasty white color. 

“Does it feel like we’ve been asleep for a while?” Choerry asked shakily.

“Yeah.” Gowon said quietly. “A really long while.”

“Follow me.” Choerry said curtly, getting up. It seems they’d waken up in a fruit farm- Gowon got up and saw rows of trees of different kinds of lively fruits. Gowon smiled a bit at the sight of the fruits. She had no clue peaches could be such a pretty color.

Following after Choerry, the atmosphere seemed to get tenser the more Choerry looked around. Choerry lead them to the house Vivi had described, and Gowon could see that playground in the distance.

“Fuck!” Choerry cursed beneath her breath, running her fingers through her hair. 

“What?” Gowon asked.

“Kim Lip and Jinsol aren’t here!” Choerry’s voice was trembling.

“How do you know?” Gowon’s eyes widened.

Choerry gave her a solemn look, and didn’t say anything. She opened the door, and looked through the house. Gowon could only follow her around quietly. She didn’t want to make Choerry angrier than she already looked.

Gowon followed her upstairs, and into the different rooms. She noticed there was a picture of Vivi on the nightstand of one room, and wondered who loved her enough to have her picture so close to their bed. 

Choerry lead them into her room, and stormed towards her bed. She grabbed the piece of paper that was on it, and stood still as she read it. 

“They left.” Choerry mumbled. “I’ve got no clue what the date was. They left for Eden.”

“Eden?” Gowon was pale. Her eyes began to tear up. “Choerry, it’s not possible that... that we somehow were asleep for months, is it? Everything is still the same, isn’t it?”

“Damn.” Choerry crumpled the paper in her hands. “Damn! I never told Yeojin and Haseul I was leaving...”

“What? What about Vivi? What about the Odd Eye Circle?” Gowon pleaded with Choerry, but it seemed Choerry was thinking about different things.

“I don’t know.” Choerry bit her lip, and threw the letter aside. She sat down on her bed. “...I’ve only traveled to that place with no moon. I don’t know if I can even go back.”

“So what are you saying?” Gowon’s voice shook.

“I’m _saying,_ ” Choerry said in exasperation. “That we can’t go to Eden.”

“No- No!” Gowon cried. “We have to go to Eden! Vivi, she- She’s not safe right now, we- we have to go back no matter what!”

“She’s fine!” Choerry snapped. “So long as Kim Lip and Jinsol are there, they’re... they’ll be there for Vivi.”

“But what about Chuu? And Yves, and Olivia? They’re there too!” Gowon pushed. “Will Kim Lip and Jinsol kill them?”

“They don’t kill people!” Choerry said harshly, and Gowon flinched. “They’ve sinned, just like the rest of you. Just like we all have.”

“...They’ve sinned?” Gowon asked weakly. “But- I thought...”

“They kill those who’ve sinned?” Choerry scoffed. “It’s nothing like that. They’d have to kill themselves too. Only Jinsol could be considered _clean of sin._ Hyunjin’s words are outdated...”

“Hyunjin?” Gowon echoed. Vivi spoke of her once or twice! “Where’s Hyunjin? And Heejin?”

“No one’s seen Heejin in years. Only the primaries and Vivi have ever met Heejin.” Choerry shook her head. “And Hyunjin... she’s on Earth. She’s hiding from Heejin.”

 _So Heejin really is bad. Olivia wasn’t wrong._ Gowon thought deeply. She shook her head. “So you really think Vivi will be safe?”

“I’m sure of it. It’s impossible to kill a color anyways. The strength you’d have to have...” Choerry trailed off, and grew wide eyed. “Was there some one like that in Eden? Someone who was extremely powerful?”

“Olivia. Olivia was really powerfully. Her- Her color is black!” Gowon said. “Choerry, what’s wrong?”

“Kim Lip and Jinsol must be fronting with whoever’s that powerful. With Olivia.” Choerry muttered. “That Olivia must be feeding off Haseul and Yeojin!”

“Feeding...?” Gowon echoed softly. Choerry stood up abruptly, and met Gowon’s eyes.

“You’re not a regular color, but I think you’re good. And I also think you’re under threat from that Olivia.” Choerry said, and she held Gowon’s hands. “I’m... not sure where you can stay. If you really don’t have any connections with the moon, you can stay with Haseul and Yeojin. If you do have a pull, that color would try feeding off your energy too.”

Choerry suddenly look terrified. She grabbed Gowon’s shoulders, eyes wild. “Never mind that we can’t go to Eden. We’ll... we’ll try it. But Gowon, you’ve got to do me a favor. If Haseul and Yeojin stay there... Listen to me carefully.”

Choerry lead Gowon out to the fruit farms, and picked as many cherries as she could. She asked Gowon to stand to the side- “I’ve never done this before!”- and stood still with the cherries in hand. Gowon waited like that for a while- Choerry seemed to be doing absolutely nothing.

Then, it happened. There was a purple crescent in Choerry’s right eye, so luminous that it looked white, and even the light of the pale moons seemed to flicker with Choerry’s sudden activation. Choerry, who seemed to be taken over by the moons, crushed the cherries in her hand until they were nothing but liquid. The seeds too had been crushed in Choerry’s palms. The juice of the fruit ran down her arms and dripped through her fingertips until they began to steadily fall to the ground. Choerry opened her hands, and the purple drops of liquid on the long browns of the grass ripped open the floor. There was a brilliant color of lavender light, and in place of the hole, a swirling purple color was replaced. Choerry turned her palms towards the swirling colors, and the whirling hues steadied a bit. 

Choerry was still possessed by that crescent in her eye for a while longer- she only snapped out of it minutes later. She turned to Gowon, a wild expression on her face. “That was my first time activating my odd eye.”

“...” Gowon glanced at the portal. Some of the colors were spurting out in what looked like burning sparks of flame. “Are you sure this portal is safe?”

“Never know until we try!” Choerry seemed to have gotten her original enthusiasm back. “I’ll find you even if you wind up in hell, so don’t worry. This portal won’t last long, since the Circle will be away from Middle Earth and the majority of colors are drained of power or too far to support the energy. Go, and don’t lose my note! They’ll only believe you if they see my note! I think...”

“Will you be here when I get back?” Gowon asked.

“Of course I will. Time there is totally weird. If you bring them fast enough, you’ll only have missed a day or two in real time.” Choerry assured her. Her smile faltered, and she gave a worried look to the heavens. “I can only wonder how long I was in there.... Never mind. No time to sulk. Gowon, be safe. We’ll meet again, alright?”

“Alright!” Gowon nodded, and managed to give Choerry a small smile. “Please... make sure Vivi is okay. And when you find Chuu and Yves, bring them along too. And... when... you fight Olivia, can you promise not to kill her?”

“Don’t worry. There’s no way to kill a color without an absurd amount of strength.” Choerry shook her head. “...Which is why I have to get to Eden, like, now! Let’s meet again, Gowon!”

“Let’s meet again!” Gowon agreed, and turned to the portal. She quickly ran over what was meant to happen in her mind- Choerry had asked she find Haseul and Yeojin, take them to the Middle Earth, and hide in the basement of the house until Choerry could make her return with the Odd Eyes. Coming back to reality, Gowon readied herself, briefly regretting all of her life’s choices, before jumping into the portal. 

Choerry let out a short sigh of relief, and picked out the cherries in her pocket. _I don’t even know how to get to Eden._

“Let’s do this!” Choerry yelled, and took a bite of the same kind of cherry that had whisked her away from home. 

When Choerry arrived in Eden, she ran through the woods for a long while before she, one, spotted a massive house in the distance, and two, began to feel Kim Lip’s pull. Also, she heard an explosion.

“Kim Lip!” Choerry called, running in the direction of the noise. “Kim Lip, Jinsol!”

“Choerry!” She heard Kim Lip’s call, and finally found her through the trees of the woods. She looked completely beaten up! Her face was smudged with dirt and her clothes were basically torn to pieces. Choerry could only imagine how angry Kim Lip was. 

“Kim Lip!” Choerry called in delight. “Where’s Jinsol! What’s happening?”

Kim Lip and Choerry reunited with a hug. Kim Lip pulled away briefly to inspect Choerry’s face before giving her a gentle smile. 

“You’re safe. Where the hell were you?!” Kim Lip snapped.

“I found Green!” Choerry beamed. “She’s with Orange! I’ll tell you everything later. What’s going on?”

Kim Lip looked emotional, but she quickly shook away the expression. “We’ve been in Eden for weeks, but Vivi’s soul put a barrier around the castle. Vivi’s essence is still dying, so we have enough time to save her. Someone’s trying to keep her alive in there!”

“So she’s alright?” Choerry asked in relief.

“She’s fine! I’m sure of it!” Kim Lip grinned. “But there’s another color trying to block our way. We can’t tell if she’s on Vivi’s side. Jinsol and I have been trying to fight her without harming her too much, but it’s not going too well! You got here just in time!”

“Kim Lip, is that color black?”

“Strange, right? We think Vivi might’ve created her.”

“Black is the one who killed Vivi!” Choerry shouted. “Don’t hold back with her! She’s feeding off the energies of Green and Orange right now too!”

Kim Lip’s smile fell, and her lip twitched. “...Come on then!”

Kim Lip lead Choerry out of the woods, and came face to face with a war zone. The grass had been blown to bits, leaving chunks of uneven dirt and ground to serve as their battle field. Jinsol and Black were opposite to each other- Jinsol’s Odd Eye was completely activated, her whole body glowing with an ethereal color of blue as the crescent in her eye shone like a beacon. Black was across from her, and there was... a deep pink light emitting from her! 

Choerry had never seen Jinsol and Kim Lip in battle, but they’d discussed it before. Jinsol, at that moment, was bringing on a thunder storm, forcing lightning to crack and whip Black at her will. Choerry had made it just in time to see a cool scene- Black deflected a lightning bolt with her bare hand and shot it at Jinsol, making her fly to the side! Choerry would’ve shouted in awe, but Jinsol needed help more than anything.

Kim Lip and Choerry ran up to defend Jinsol, and Choerry stood before her while Kim Lip went in to pack some super powered punches into Black’s stomach. 

“Jinsol!” Choerry cried, crouching beside her. 

“Choerry!” Jinsol recovered quickly. She had a black eye and a bruised lip, but she didn’t seem to care much for it. “Where’ve you been?!”

“I found Orange and Green!” Choerry shouted. The wind was howling, and the intensity of the low thunderstorm made it so that nothing could be heard. “They’re coming to the Middle Earth right now!”

Jinsol grinned, her good eye twinkling. “Good job, Choerry! We missed you a lot!” 

“I know you did.” Choerry shrugged, smiling. 

Choerry helped Jinsol up, and Kim Lip who had once told Choerry about her super-speed was putting it to work. Kim Lip had run up a tornado, and was panting heavily with her hands on her knees.

“Watch this, Choerry!” 

Jinsol wiped the dirt from her left eye, and once it was totally open, Jinsol flicked her two fingers to the right and the clouds rumbled before a bolt of lightning electrocuted Kim Lip’s tornado. Jinsol kept the lightning steady as the tornado kept strong, and after a moment longer, Olivia had been spat out by the vicious wind. As the tornado spun away, Choerry and Jinsol ran to Kim Lip’s side.

“That was cool!” Choerry enthused once they were together.

“Choerry, have you activated your crescent yet?” Kim Lip grunted. “You’ve gotta help us fight.”

“Mm!” Choerry nodded firmly. As Jinsol and Kim Lip ran ahead, Choerry tried to rekindle what she’d brought up to open the portal to Eden. She thought about Vivi, and Kim Lip, and Jinsol, and more importantly, she thought about how sick Haseul must be, completely drained of energy and fatigued. 

_Come on!_ Choerry stomped her foot in frustration, her eyes shut tight. She tried to recall what she’d been feeling when she activated it to open the portal for Gowon, but that feeling had been one of pure desperation. _I should be feeling desperate now! If I don’t help, Vivi could die!_

Then, like some sort of meteor falling in from space, there was a burning flash of burgundy light. Dirt and debris exploded once the flash of light crashed on the floor- Jinsol forced the direction of the rain and made it impossible for the debris to keep in the air. It cleared, and a color was standing tall. 

“Yves!” Black was shouting out in bewilderment. 

“Thought I got killed by Vivi’s light, right?” Burgundy, or Yves, called back. 

Black smirked. “What does it matter? Your power doesn’t compare to mine or theirs. If you fight, you’ll lose.”

“Let’s test that theory.” Yves said simply, and Choerry thought it was the coolest thing she’d ever heard. It seemed Black had more to say, but Yves looked like she was less talking and a lot more action. 

“Who the hell are you?” Jinsol yelled.

“Heejin made Vivi and I to protect the universe.” Yves called back, and reached her hand towards the heavens. Like a blessing, a bow materialized in her hand, and Yves reached to her back to pull out an arrow that seemed to be completely out of thin air. “I’m just doing my job.”

She pulled back the string of the bow, and shot it straight into Olivia’s stomach! Olivia stumbled over, and coughed up blood. Kim Lip and Jinsol exchanged bewildered smiles, and Jinsol forced the rain to lighten up, wanting to give Yves’ arrows easier access. As Yves shot the myriad of arrows, the battle continued in this way- Choerry wasn’t much help besides using the iconic speed of the Odd Eye Circle in order to dodge any attacks that came her way. Choerry felt a bit of pity for Olivia at some point. She was getting her ass kicked!

But Choerry thought too soon. In no time, there was another Color beside Olivia. 

“Why are there so many of you?!” Jinsol complained from the ground, having been knocked back by Olivia’s power shots. 

“Yves! Don’t do this!” Chuu shrieked. “If you leave us alone, nothing worse will happen!”

“What worse could happen?” Yves had a hollow look on her face. The skin beneath her eyes were dark, cheek bones pronounced as though her vessel hadn’t eaten in days. Maybe... it had been more than days. Choerry thought regretfully, wondering if Vivi had been killed months ago instead of days or weeks. “Nothing matters to me anymore.”

“You don’t even care about the Colors?” Chuu cried. “What about Gowon? Don’t you think we could do something bad to her?”

Yves raised her bow to the sky and lined another arrow alongside it’s frame. She pulled back the string, arching the bow towards the clouds before aiming it to Chuu. “...I don’t give a fuck.”

She shot it, and it struck Chuu in the heart. She fell by Olivia’s side- and Choerry watched in shock. Had it really killed her?! Beside Chuu’s body, Olivia stood expressionlessly. 

“She was no help anyways.” Olivia said, eyes dark. There was something strange happening- behind Olivia, the masses of energy she usually produced were seeming to be sucked towards her. The sky was slowly going dark- What was happening now?! Yves was about to arch another arrow, lined up with Olivia’s stomach, but the world had darkened to the point that it was impossible for Yves to shoot and land a proper hit. All there was of any light was the barrier around the castle, but it provided no illumination. 

Yves shot her arrow anyway, but there was no response. The light in Eden had been completely absorbed. Suddenly, Kim Lip let out an agonized wail.

“Jinsol!” Kim Lip screamed. “Start the storm!”

Jinsol didn’t reply. Then, the sky rumbled and the lighting cracked- a flash of light! Behind the lightning Olivia was pummeling Kim Lip into the ground. Kim Lip was trying hard to kick her feet, trying to kick the ground in order to try and split it beneath Olivia.

“Shit!” Jinsol sighed, and Choerry tried to glance towards where the voice was coming from. “I really didn’t wanna have to do this...”

The lighting cracked again- it was cracking more often due to Jinsol’s commands, striking the ground second to second. The flashes of light lit up the world for brief moments, but it was always enough for them to see. Ahead of them, Jinsol was... Appearing back and forth around Olivia, throwing hits at random. Was that super speed? But Kim Lip had super speed!

“She’s teleporting!” Yves scoffed. The lightning cracked, and Choerry could hear Yves pull back the string of her bow and shoot the arrow.

“You might shoot Jinsol or Kim Lip!” Choerry cried. 

“Don’t worry.” Yves said, and as the lightning cracked again, Choerry could see her aiming a second arrow. “I just need a moment to see it.”

The arrow was shot, and there was a painful cry. “Agh!” It was Olivia who’d been shot! Jinsol teleported her besides Choerry, and Jinsol grabbed Choerry’s shoulder with an urgency. The lightning struck again, and Choerry could see the desperation in her face.

“Vivi’s pull gets weaker by the second.” Jinsol said. Kim Lip was draped onto her, half conscious. “The barrier’s almost down. Choerry... We need you right now.” 

“Jinsol, I don’t know how!” Choerry cried. “I don’t know how to activate my powers!”

“Hurry it up!” Yves called her warning, still shooting at Olivia to keep her down.

“Choerry...” Kim Lip groaned. Jinsol met Choerry’s eyes. 

“Trust yourself, Choerry.” Jinsol said, and for the first time in Choerry’s life, she touched her face. Choerry felt shocked with the feeling of Jinsol’s palm against her cheek- She almost started to tear up.

“Alright!” Choerry wiped her eyes furiously. “I’ll do it! I’ll- I’ll try!”

“Good.” Jinsol sighed. “Keep Kim Lip safe until she wakes up.”

Choerry silently accepted the transition of Kim Lip into her arms, and took a deep breath in. She needed to focus now more than ever- she wiped her mind of anything that could be impeding her connection, and only thought of the sweet pull of the moon. 

A cold chill surged throughout Choerry. Suddenly, she felt as if she knew what to do. She opened her eyes, and felt the recent warmth of the crescent in her eye. 

_It worked!_ Choerry thought in excitement, and used all her strength to keep her connection with the moon. Kim Lip stirred in her arms, and Choerry looked down to her.

There was nothing to be seen in the pitch black of the night, but Choerry felt relieved Kim Lip was even moving at all. At least the faint glow of Choerry’s purple eye allowed her to see something. “Choerry.” Kim Lip called. “Your Odd Eye!”

“Can you see it?” Choerry beamed. 

“I can.” Kim Lip smiled too. She tucked a lock of hair behind Choerry’s ear. “Good job, Choerry. Stay with Yves, alright?”

“Alright!” Choerry nodded, and Kim Lip pushed herself out of Choerry’s arms and sped back to Jinsol’s side.

Jinsol didn’t expect Choerry to fight when she asked for her connection with the moon, and Choerry knew. What she’d been asking for was Choerry’s connection to bring _stability._ With all three of the Eyes connected to the moon, not only would their powers increase drastically, but they’d also be able to keep their powers steady with no bouts of weakness. This was the true nature of Jinsol’s request, but Choerry felt that she couldn’t leave it at this.

 _How am I supposed to activate my powers when I’ve never even trained them before?_ She thought desperately. She shook her head, ridding them of any thoughts- and lifted her palm. She waited... And nothing happened. _Ugh! Come on!_

She then recalled what she had done earlier- she’d crushed those time shifting cherries and opened up a portal. But there were no cherries here anymore! _Whatever. Let’s just try it!_

Choerry laid her palms flat, facing up towards the sky, and she repeated the crushing motion she’d done earlier. _If I keep my connection steady..._

Suddenly, there was a whooshing noise and a bright light Choerry could see even through her eyelids. She opened her eyes, and before her, there was a round portal. Choerry laughed in delight, but quickly got back to getting serious. She stuck her hand through the portal, and another portal opened. Choerry’s hand could be seen flailing around feet away from where she stood.

“Yves!” Choerry shouted. “I’m gonna open a portal! Shoot your arrow through it!”

Choerry could see Yves’ suspicion on her dimly illuminated face, but there was a dark expression on her face. As though she had nothing left to lose, she pulled back her arrow and waited for Choerry’s command. Choerry beamed, and went to work with a determined smile. She looked in the direction of the arrow, and traced out where Olivia, Jinsol and Kim Lip were fighting. Hopefully, if she just thought about it, a portal would open there!

Choerry pretended to crush those time-wielding cherries again, and on command, a portal ripped open. It seemed more unstable than the last, but at least it was working. Across from the field, as Choerry had demanded, another portal opened- right above Olivia!

“My aim will be off.” Yves warned.

“Just shoot it!”

Yves shot it, and as the lightning struck the floor, Yves’ arrow could be seen sinking into Olivia’s head. Olivia fell over, and Jinsol and Kim Lip gave Choerry and Yves an off-handed thumbs up for giving them an opening. The portal was still open, so Choerry could somewhat see what was happening. Jinsol had mended and twisted a chain of ... electrified water around Olivia, who had been dizzied by the arrow to the head. Kim Lip lifted her up, and the two dragged her to Yves and Choerry.

Choerry was shocked- was this the end of the battle? But they’d barely done anything! 

“You’re not gonna kill her?” Yves asked.

“It’s impossible to kill a color.” Kim Lip shook her head. “The process of killing a color is crueler than the action itself. This is all we can do.” 

“How about the girl I shot? Is she dead?” Yves went on, and her bow dissipated into distant shards of light. 

“No.” Jinsol said after a moment. “She’s fine. Her energy is too weak... She’s never really been close with the moon, has she?”

“Close with the moon...” Yves mumbled. 

“All colors feel connections with the moon at some point.” Jinsol explained, and the stormy sky lightened up as Jinsol’s Odd Eye began to dim. “...It’s weird you guys never felt anything.”

“We need to go.” Yves said abruptly, and spun on her heel. 

“Wait!” Jinsol cried. “It’s too dark to follow you!”

“It’s clearing up.” Kim Lip said, deactivating her Odd Eye as well. She started quickly behind Yves. “We should be able to see again once we cross the barrier.”

“How can we cross the barrier?” Choerry asked, she and Jinsol catching up with the two.

“I can cross through it.” Yves said quietly. 

A color had never died before, so the Circle couldn’t find anything suspicious with her words. Instead, Kim Lip asked.

“None of us have been able to cross it.” Kim Lip frowned.

“I love Vivi.” Yves said abruptly. It was quiet as they walked across the torn field, but now, it was even quieter. Choerry held her shoulders awkwardly.

“Love?” Kim Lip echoed.

“She’s mine.” Yves said, short and sweet. 

“...Your creation?”

They stopped right in front of the barrier. Yves gave Kim Lip a wry look. “My lover.”

“I’m sticking my arm out. Hold onto it. We’ll pass through.” Yves changed the topic entirely, and soon enough, they’d phased through.

“Who was that peach color?” Jinsol asked another important question. “I really don’t remember any of your creations. Heejin didn’t even mention you guys...”

“Chuu and Gowon are not Heejin’s.” Yves corrected. “They are Olivia’s.”

“Olivia’s?!” They all cried in surprise. 

“But I thought only Heejin could create!” Choerry gaped.

“Guess not. Don’t ask me anymore.” Yves muttered as she lead them into the giant castle of Eden. 

_Doesn’t look like she wants to talk._ Choerry thought with a frown. Then, she connected the dots. Of course Yves didn’t wanna talk! Her lover was dying!

Finally, Yves lead them to the room. The pitch black darkness was relieving after their long trek up the winding stairs, and it was now replaced by a eye-destroying light. Well, it was for the first few seconds. The closer they got to the room, the dimmer the pink light got.

Yves opened the door, and she immediately kicked off her shoes. 

“Unnie,” Yves called hoarsely. “Unnie, are you okay? I’m back. Look who’s here...”   
She dragged her feet and crawled onto the bed, where... A torn apart Vivi was laying. Yves cradled this torn apart Vivi, holding her head close to her chest and petting her hair as though she could feel it. 

The scene was nothing short of terrifying. The torso of Vivi’s vessel had been completely demolished, with bones sticking out strangely through mounds of unsettlingly strewn flesh, purple organs that seemed... swollen, but swollen only because something was tightening them, and bits of muscle and skin floating about. The blood on the sheets of the bed had long since dried. Vivi’s face was gray, and despite it being hidden within Yves’ hold, Choerry could see the hollowness in her eyes.

Choerry stood in horror, her face drained of blood- never in her life did she think she’d see such a scene. She never even knew their vessels were composed of so many... ugly things.

“Vivi...” Kim Lip said weakly, and her eyes began to fill with tears. Jinsol had a greenish color pale her face, and she ran to the balcony. Choerry could hear her vomiting over the fence. 

“Wake her up.” Yves pleaded weakly, looking to Kim Lip and Choerry with helpless eyes. “Please, wake her up. I don’t care what you have to do. Just... Just wake her up.”

“Of course I’ll wake her up!” Kim Lip snapped, but tears were streaming down her cheeks. Her knees wobbled, and she stumbled onto Choerry. “Of... Of course...”

“That fucking bitch.” Jinsol cursed as she wiped her mouth, eyes bloodshot. “She crushed Vivi’s essence, didn’t she?”

“I-I don’t know, I can’t remember,” Yves too was tearing up. “I saw her- I saw her take out some- something really bright, it was blinding, and she destroyed it, she crushed it.”

Kim Lip let out a horrified sob. 

Jinsol looked terrified, standing stiffly as though she’d realized something she never wanted to. Slowly, she met Yves’ eyes. “...How long has she been like this?”

Yves was quiet, her eyes darting around as she tried to remember. “Days... No, years? No... Months? I cant remember. I cant remember...”

“Yves,” Jinsol’s voice trembled. “How has she survived this long?”

Yves froze for a moment. She sighed, put the dead face of Vivi’s vessel carefully onto the pillow, and stood up. Then, Yves lifted up her shirt. Beneath it, Yves’ skin seemed to be completely worn, sagging in awkward places and having strange gapings and blandly colored wounds. Not only this, but Yves seemed completely drained of color. Choerry thought it was strange- Yves’ body had a confident glow of burgundy to it. Why did only her torso seem to completely lack any color? Even the pigment of her skin was deteriorated entirely.

“You’re draining your essence?” Jinsol looked faint. 

“I... don’t know. I was holding her hand the other night. Not the other night- Nevermind. And I just felt this surge.” Yves mumbled, and let her raggedy shirt fall back down. “And Vivi seemed to look alright. A bit better. So I just kept doing it. Kept bringing back that surge, I guess.”

“You know that transferring your energy means you’ll die too?” Jinsol asked, running a hand through her hair. “Transferring energy means you’re giving her your essence! You’re not keeping her alive at all!”

“Then what are we doing standing here?” Yves snapped. “We need to find Vivi’s-Vivi’s... Whatever! We just need to fix this!”

“There’s no fixing this.” Jinsol mumbled.

“What?” Yves demanded.

“There’s no fixing this!” Jinsol yelled. “You transferring your energy didn’t do anything. All it did was sustain her!”

“Exactly! I’ve been holding out for someone to come help!”

“You should’ve been finding the fragments of her essence!”

“How the fuck was I supposed to know?”

“It’s too late now!” Jinsol shouted, eyes welling up. “Even if we piece her back together, she’ll never be the same!”

“Then piece her back together!” Yves raged. “I don’t care if she’s not the same! I just want her back!”

“I won’t do it!” Jinsol cried, wiping her eyes furiously. “I won’t help you either. If we brought back Vivi-,”

“Then do it as a favor!” Yves shouted, and the sobs fell quiet for a moment. Yves was panting, and in that moment, Choerry thought she looked more exhausted than she’d ever seen anyone in the world be. “...Do it as a favor. I helped you out with Olivia, right? I even knocked Chuu down before anything could happen. If you do this for me, I can, god, I don’t know, I’ll just owe you. If you ever need anything, I’ll do it. Just do me this. Just bring her back. I-I’ve kept her safe all this time, haven’t I? From Olivia and Chuu? That was all me. So... as a repayment for keeping her safe.”

Kim Lip was still torn apart by the fact that Vivi had died- she could put in no input. Jinsol was the only one who could make the decisions now.

“Fine.” Jinsol said, letting out a weak breath. “But what will you do with the essence? There’s no where to put it. This body has been destroyed beyond repair.”

“Do me this. Once we get all the fragments, can you put it into a body that’s identical to hers?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a bit of a filler chapter :(( but I think it’s important in order to progress the story !! Also, I’m not very good at battle scenes so I hope it wasn’t TOO boring TT  
> thank you guys for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

“Damn it… How much time passed?” 

Choerry had told them that time passed quickly, but Haseul and Yeojin really had no concept of how much time passed inside of their little world. Haseul worried immediately- had she aged immensely inside of there?! Yeojin didn’t seem to mind. She puffed out her chest and smugly told Haseul that she must be old enough to drink now. Well, how old even were they?! It felt like only a month or so had passed inside that green field- How much time had passed out here? Choerry and Gowon wouldn’t know, so it was pointless to ask. They wouldn’t have been keeping track of how long Haseul and Yeojin were sent away.

 _Only Hyunjin would know._ Haseul thought of her friend, feeling an ache in her heart.

Now, Haseul and Yeojin were following a brand new color named Gowon. She’d appeared at their home frantically, and after a brief persuasion, Haseul decided that they’d follow Gowon. Her color glowed a mint green, and she didn’t seem any different from the rest of them. Yeojin was always skeptical, but Gowon brought up the Middle Earth and Yeojin immediately lit up. She knew that was where Kim Lip lived, so it was an easy bargain. There was a bit of an issue leaving, since Gowon lost the portal and they’d had to run around the fields in search of it as Gowon pulled out her hair in frustration.

They finally did find it, and Gowon ushered them through before following suit. The three of them fell into a fruit farm after being spat out by the portal, landing with thuds on the ground. 

“Gonna bruise…” Yeojin groaned, rubbing her arm as she sat up. “Argh! Unnie, is my face bruised?!”

“You look fine.” Haseul assured, but the portal had thrown them so high that she was sure even their ribs would be bruised. “Gowon might take a while, so let’s go find your unnie.”

“Choerry?” Yeojin brightened up. “Is she here?”

“Gowon said they’d only gone to Eden for a little…” Haseul mumbled, sitting up. 

Then, the portal hissed and simmered, and Gowon was launched into the air by it. She fell onto her side, and let out a yelp of pain. 

“Why does it throw you like that?!” Yeojin demanded to know. Gowon sat up in agony, rubbing her shoulder. 

“I didn’t make the portal…” Gowon mumbled. She quit whining almost instantly, and looked around with wide eyes. “Damn it… How much time passed?!”

“How much time passed?” Haseul frowned. Right, Choerry had told them time moved quickly where they’d been!   
“Choerry said a few hours might just be a day or two.” Gowon said. “But the house looks empty.”

Haseul and Yeojin looked up to where Gowon was looking. Surely enough, there was a house beside the fruit farm, shouldering it with a high, wooden wall. It wasn’t a big house- not bigger than the one Haseul and Yeojin were living in, but the house was modest and cute. Instead of a house, it resembled more of a cabin. The windows were large though, and Gowon was right. All the lights inside were off, but could that really mean the Odd Eyes weren’t here?

“How do you know? Maybe they went to sleep.” Haseul suggested. 

“I feel like they don’t sleep much.” Gowon said quietly, and got up on her feet. Haseul and Yeojin followed, and trailed behind Gowon as she led them to the front door of the home. She opened it with ease, and the girls stepped in. Inside was just as quaint as the outside. There was a living room and a kitchen with a counter and a small dining table, large enough for three. The only thing that separated the two was the tile that led up to the staircase. 

“Choerry!” Gowon called. “Choerry, are you here?”

Haseul poked around as Gowon and Yeojin ran upstairs in search of Jinsol, Kim Lip and Choerry. They came back not long after, looking defeated.

“Not here?” Haseul crossed her arms.

“No…” Gowon rubbed her neck. Then, she shook her head. “Choerry said there was some sort of basement we should hide in until they got back. They must be stuck in Eden.”

“Let’s do as we’re told.” Haseul said.

“Is Eden dangerous?” Yeojin interrupted them as Gowon whirled around in search of the basement. 

“It’s not.” Gowon shook her head. “There’s only a dangerous person.”

“Will Kim Lip unnie get hurt? And Choerry?” Yeojin asked, worried.

Gowon stopped for a moment. When she spoke, her voice grew tender “...I don’t think that person would hurt anyone. I think that person… Is just going through a hard time right now.”

Yeojin and Haseul exchanged curious glances, but said nothing else.

“Could the basement be outside?” Haseul said instead, clearing her throat. 

Just as Gowon was about to respond, the front door was kicked open. Startled, the girls whirled around, and came face to face with the Odd Eye Circle.

Haseul was stunned for a moment. Choerry’s face was familiar, but she’d never met Red and Blue. Their vessels… Were alarmingly gorgeous! Even with cuts and bruises on their lips, cheeks and brows, they looked pretty as ever. Was every color in their universe randomly beautiful? Hyunjin was good looking, Choerry had a cute face, Yeojin was pretty, even Gowon had a unique beauty. How could the Odd Eye Circle be this good looking too? Beside their looks, Red and Blue were also holding two people in their arms. They looked pretty unconscious.

“Unnie!” Yeojin shrieked.

“Olivia!” Gowon cried.

“Hey Haseul.” Choerry greeted. Haseul nodded back at her awkwardly.

“Yeojin!” Kim Lip dropped whoever she was holding quite ruthlessly, and ran to Yeojin. The two hugged like they should, reunited after so long, and Kim Lip pulled away in tears. “Yeojin, how are you here?! When… Where were you all this time? Yeojin, you have to believe me, I tried to look for you after I fought with Heejin, but I couldn’t find you in time! I had to come back to the Middle Earth before I could run into Heejin again!”

“You fought with Heejin?!” Jinsol’s eyes widened. By that point, she’d put the body down on the couch, where Gowon was tending to it.

“It’s okay!” Yeojin wept. “I know you did your best. Hyunjin and Haseul unnies found me and took care of me.”

“Hyunjin…” Kim Lip echoed. She and Jinsol both had similar looks in their eyes at the name. “You saw her? Is she okay?”

“Haseul?” Jinsol repeated, and looked up. She met Haseul’s eyes, and Jinsol’s face seemed to soften. She made her way over to her, and stood in front of Haseul.

“...You’re Jinsol?” Haseul asked gently.

Jinsol nodded. Then, she smiled. “We spent nineteen years looking for you. Well… We spent a couple of years sobbing, then we spent the rest looking for you.”

“Looking for me?” Haseul murmured, her eyes wide. She knew that Jinsol and Hyunjin had created her, but Haseul had never seen such longing in Hyunjin’s eyes when they’d first met. Jinsol looked… Like she’d suffered far longer than Hyunjin had. 

“Hyunjin went down to Earth to find you.” Jinsol said. “She betrayed Heejin for you, you know that? I hope you didn’t feel lonely on Earth. I hope… You felt us looking for you on the moon.”

Before, things hadn’t made sense to Haseul. She understood that Hyunjin was her creator, and wanted to keep her safe- that’s why they got into this whirlwind of a mess. She came to understand what her color was, and finally knew why she’d felt that connection to the moon all those years. But Hyunjin had never told her how much she’d missed her, or anything about how hard she and Jinsol looked for her. All those years of confusion seemed to fade away inside of Haseul as Jinsol spoke to her.

She was exactly where she was meant to be. She threw her arms around Jinsol, who stumbled back in surprise, but was quick to hug her back.

“Did you spread your color to the Earth?” Jinsol asked gently, pressing her cheek against Haseul’s head. “You had a purpose when you were created. That’s why Heejin took you away so soon. She wanted you to make the Earth beautiful again.”

“Beautiful again? I had a purpose?” Haseul asked, and suddenly, she realized she’d been crying all this time.

“We would’ve let Heejin take you, but we wanted you around for a few more years. We wanted to teach you everything before you left us….” Jinsol sighed, stroking Haseul’s hair. “Did you grow up well, at least?”

“Yeah. I grew up really well. I had a mom and a dad and everything.” Haseul nodded, hiccuping through her tears. “I was really happy.”

“It’s okay. Quit crying, you baby.” Jinsol bullied her, pinching her cheek. They pulled away, and Jinsol smiled at her. She pushed her hair away from her face, and pet her head. “Did Hyunjin take care of you? Was she mean?”

“She was really nice. She took really good care of me and Yeojin.” Haseul said, and wiped her tears. She grinned up at Jinsol. “It was crazy, but I think we had fun. I wouldn’t have changed anything. I’m so glad… I got to meet her.”

“Then that’s good. She’s alright?” Jinsol asked hopefully. “Do you know where she is?”

“She never told us.” Haseul shook her head. “She thought that we might give it away if any other colors came to see us. But she said she’d come back to check on us after a while…”

Jinsol seemed to have a weight of years lifted off her shoulders. “Good. Good, everyone’s okay.”

Kim Lip and Yeojin seemed to have had a similar conversation. They were wiping their tears now too, and Choerry was hovering awkwardly behind them. The two bodies were both on the couch, and Gowon was tending to both of them.

“...” Kim Lip cleared her throat. “We should sit and talk.”

Eight out of twelve colors were gathered in the small living room of the cabin. One couch had Gowon and the two bodies (dubbed Chuu and Olivia), leaning on her, while the other was occupied by Jinsol, Haseul and Yeojin. Choerry stood beside Kim Lip, arms crossed as Kim Lip put her chin into her fist, deep in thought.

“First, Gowon. What’s been happening in Eden? When we got there, we got into some fight with Olivia, and Chuu came out to fight with Yves. Then Yves shot her down…” Kim Lip reached into her tattered waist band, and revealed the arrow that had been shot at Chuu. “Straight into her heart. Choerry thinks Olivia’s been feeding off of Haseul and Yeojin’s energies.”

Kim Lip stared at Gowon expectantly, who let out a heavy sigh. “I don’t know a lot. What I know is that Olivia hates Heejin. She hated her to the point that she thought she had to kill every color in the universe to feel liberated from Heejin. She… wanted to take her place. And she created Chuu and I to help her. Yves used to agree with Olivia, and did everything to help her. Well, until Vivi came, then Yves changed her mind. She gave up on Olivia’s plan. I think… I think, towards the end, Yves just wanted to go far away with Vivi. I don’t know if she ever planned on coming here. Chuu used to be obsessed with Yves, but Yves started to ignore her after she fell in love with Vivi. I don’t know… I don’t know why Yves would shoot her. I didn’t even know she arched!”

“Did you know anything about Olivia feeding off of Haseul and Yeojin?” Kim Lip asked. “Is it true?”

“I don’t know anything about it.” Gowon shook her head. “But towards the end, Olivia… She didn’t look good. Beneath her eyes was always black, and she looked more gray than anything. Does having too much power hurt you?”

“It’s impossible to know now.” Kim Lip shook her head. “We’ll have to wait until Olivia wakes up. Haseul, you don’t know where Hyunjin is at all?”

“She only told us she was going far away, so she could hide and we could be safe.” Haseul recited what she knew. She rose to her feet, and stood up with a confidence that made her seem a bit like a leader. 

“How did she know about that place? You guys were in some sort of time warp?” Kim Lip asked.

“...Choerry told us that our house wasn’t on Earth, but Yeojin, Hyunjin and I all went on a plane to Iceland to find the place.” Haseul shook her head. “I can’t make sense of it. I remember we ducked under some sort of invisible force field and we were at the field.”

“You never tried to leave?” Kim Lip asked. 

“I did!” Yeojin chipped. “But I couldn’t find the entrance anymore…”

“Why do you think it wasn’t on Earth?” Kim Lip glanced at Choerry.

“There’s an ocean there. But it was completely disguised- only I could see it. Haseul and Yeojin thought it was just grass.” Choerry explained. “Time passes completely differently there too. Nothing ages. The fruits would grow, then they’d stop when they were ripe and wouldn’t age again. Even when we cut them open, oxygen did nothing to it. Also, the moon there isn’t real. It’s not even present during the day.”

“What does that have to do with Olivia feeding off of Haseul and Yeojin, then?” Kim Lip asked.

“Her powers were stronger than all of our individual powers. For someone who isn’t an Odd Eye, it’s weird to have that much power.” Choerry shrugged. “Besides, colors get their energy from the moon. There’s an ocean on that place, but not a moon?”

“Being without a moon leaves them vulnerable.” Kim Lip nodded. “Easy to prey on. But why would she disguise the ocean?”

“I think it’s so that Haseul and Yeojin wouldn’t send letters to other colors.” Choerry said. “But Hyunjin could’ve done that too. Maybe she wanted them to have zero contact with us for their safety.”

“So Haseul and Yeojin’s time warp place is a total mystery to us?” Kim Lip recapped.

“...Pretty much.” Choerry threw up her hands.

“Alright then.” Kim Lip sighed.

“Unnie, I have a question.” Yeojin interrupted. “Why are we hiding from Heejin? She’s not bad, is she?”

“We’re not hiding from Heejin.” Kim Lip shook her head. “In fact, we really need Heejin right now. Without her in the cosmos, the universe’s balance is tipped. And with the huge amount of colors we have right now, it’s like the scale is in favor of the worse side. But if we meet Heejin now, we’ll get into some big fight with her and nothing will be resolved. So it’s more like...we’re waiting for her to willingly come back to us. We’re just avoiding her for now. Hyunjin must be hiding because she thinks Heejin is angry at her.”

“But I don’t get it.” Yeojin frowned. “What’s this imbalance? What would create balance?”

“Dark and light create balance.” Kim Lip replied. “But Heejin is obsessed with the light. She doesn’t want any of us to be tainted with evil, and didn’t create any dark colors to make this balance. Heejin… Just did what she wanted. She needs to realize that the world is falling apart. We can’t fix anything if she doesn’t figure out that there can’t only be light in the universe.”

Haseul, Yeojin, Gowon, and Choerry all collectively let out “ooo”s. It seemed the concept of imbalance was vague to all except for Jinsol and Kim Lip.

“So she needs to create more dark in the world so that the light can be balanced?” Yeojin asked. “The whole reason there’s earthquakes and random buildings being destroyed and the sky turning random colors… Is because there’s no dark in the world?”

“But Olivia is a dark color.” Gowon put in. “And so is Yves!”

“Two of twelve colors are dark colors.” Kim Lip replied. “See why it’s out of balance?”

“So… what?” Haseul asked, and Kim Lip looked at her in confusion. “I mean, so what needs to happen? More colors have to be created?”

“Not necessarily.” Kim Lip shrugged. “Heejin just needs to create more darkness. Making more colors could work too.”

“I hate that my existence is some sort of mythological fantasy book.” Yeojin complained, hanging her head. “You explain everything and it still doesn’t make sense!”

Kim Lip gave her an affectionate look. “It’ll come to you naturally.”

“I have a question too.” Jinsol sat up. “That time you went to look for Heejin… You actually went to Earth to hide Orange?”

“I thought Heejin was out of her mind back then.” Kim Lip said, looking guilty. “I was worried she’d take Orange and do whatever if I’d put her in her vessel when Heejin told me to. I know Heejin wouldn’t do that, but… She took Haseul away so abruptly too…”

“You could’ve just told me!” Jinsol cried. “I wouldn't have cared!”

“Back then we were paranoid about being tainted with sin!” Kim Lip shot back.

“Well look at us now.” Jinsol retorted. “Obviously you weren’t so worried back then.”

“I was! That’s why I didn’t tell you!” Kim Lip argued. “I thought- I don’t know, I thought you would’ve done something if I said I was going to Earth to hide Orange!”

“Well it doesn’t matter anymore!” Jinsol finished the conversation, then immediately began a new one. “Heejin. You met her on Earth?”

“...She found us.” Kim Lip mumbled, lowering her eyes and crossing her arms.

“And you fought?” Jinsol asked. “What happened after you fought?”

“Neither of us won. Heejin gave up and told me to go back to the Middle Earth.” Kim Lip muttered, looking ashamed that she hadn’t won their fight fairly. 

“...That was it? She didn’t scold you?” Jinsol seemed shocked.

“She told me she’d deal with me when she returned.” Kim Lip said. “She told me she’d come back when she found Orange.”

“How come she hasn’t found Orange?” Jinsol crossed her arms.

“Orange’s color is almost nonexistent. She’s a part of Yeojin now.” Kim Lip said.

“Could Hyunjin have known?” Haseul interrupted them. “Could she have known that Heejin was going after Orange and went to find her?”

“You’d know better than us.” Jinsol said. “You and Hyunjin found Orange?”

Haseul nodded. “That day, Hyunjin told me she sensed another color. She said she’d been feeling strong pulls for a while… She thought that maybe Heejin was nearby, but she kept saying the pull is weaker than Heejin’s. So I guess she must’ve felt Kim Lip? The day we went to find Orange, Hyunjin was writhing and twitching- I- I thought she was dying, but she didn’t say anything about it… She just told me that she felt another color, like I said.”

“She must’ve been affected by the fight.” Kim Lip shook her head. “It’s lucky she got curious. That must be how she found Orange.”

“That day was the day I brought on the eclipse.” Kim Lip mentioned, looking at Jinsol. “...Time was reversed.”

“Time was reversed?” Jinsol echoed. “...This is hurting my head. The day you fought Heejin was the day you came home, wasn’t it? That day, I was planting the cherry trees. But what could that have anything to do with time reversing? I didn’t feel any difference...”

Once that was mentioned, there was a stunned look on Choerry’s face.   
“Could it have anything to do with the time warp we were in?” Haseul asked.

“...” Kim Lip and Jinsol were deep in thought. Jinsol finally resolved, “Only Heejin knows.”

“Then we’ve talked about everything.” Kim Lip concluded. “Anything unanswered is left for Olivia.”

“Kim Lip, where is Yves?” Gowon cut in, teary eyed. “And Vivi? Where are they?”

There was an abrupt silence. The Odd Eyes had somewhat guilty looks on their faces.

“...Yves is okay.” Jinsol said. 

“And Vivi?” Gowon insisted. “Where is she?”

“....She’s alive?” Choerry said awkwardly. “She’s not entirely alive. Some parts of her essence are still alive. So Vivi… she’s not completely gone.”

“What does that mean? Where is she?” Gowon’s face was contorted with a pale sort of fear. Haseul felt terrible for her.

“Well, you guys have been gone for a while.” Choerry chuckled. “And Yves asked us for a favor. She wanted Vivi’s body to be totally replicated.”

“Vivi’s body was demolished.” Jinsol coughed. “There’s not much of it left.”

“So what body are you using?!” Gowon snapped.

“A robot.” Choerry grinned, scratching the back of her head. “We put the rest of Vivi’s essence in it and activated it…”

“And you left her and Yves there?” Gowon looked ill. “Is Vivi unnie awake?!”

“Yves asked to stay. We wanted to bring them here, but she said she wanted to spend time with Vivi.” Choerry said. “Why? She loves her, doesn’t she?”

“Yves hasn’t been in the right state of mind for months!” Gowon shrieked. “If Vivi’s any different from the real Vivi…”

“She’s been in and out since we activated her.” Kim Lip frowned. “She hasn’t said a word. Why would Yves…?”

“Yves is obsessed with her. She- She wanted to be with Vivi no matter what.” Gowon shook her head. “Her love isn’t so pure. She’s not the kind to die for Vivi to live. She’s more like… Kill for her and Vivi to live together.”

“What are you saying?” Jinsol frowned.

“I’m _saying_...” Gowon heaved. “She won’t be happy if Vivi’s not the same.”

Kim Lip and Jinsol looked to each other in alarm. Haseul felt pity for them too- A dear friend of theirs died and was kept alive, but they know she’s not the same. They could neither grieve nor rejoice, and now, their good friend was about to be endangered again.

“How long can we afford to wait?” Kim Lip prompted.

“I’m sure Yves will want to be with her for a little…” Gowon mumbled. “No, it’s better not to risk it. Go as soon as you possibly can.”

“Then I’ll go tonight.” Kim Lip nodded.

“I’ll go with you.” Jinsol said.

“No, you shouldn’t. There’s no immediate danger there. These three,” Kim Lip glanced at Gowon, Olivia and Chuu. “They’re the real danger. Keep an eye on them for me.”

“Then I want to go with you!” Choerry said. 

“...Gowon will go with me.” Kim Lip decided. “One less danger. Besides, she knows Eden well. She can lead me.”

“Choerry, was Gowon any trouble when you met her?” Jinsol turned to the purple color. Choerry shook her head.

“She’s been frantic since the moment we met.” Choerry grinned. “She’s no danger. But there’s something weird about her. She can’t see our colors.”

Gowon blushed. “Yes I can!”

“What color is she?” Choerry pointed to Jinsol. 

“..Red.” Gowon said confidently. A moment of silence passed, and the girls were hiding their snickers behind their hands. 

“It was a fifty fifty shot.” Haseul said in Gowon’s defense. “At least she knew the Odd Eyes were red, purple and blue! She could’ve said orange!”

“It’d be embarrassing if you said something like light yellow.” Jinsol grinned. “Why can't you see any colors?”

“I-I don’t know!” Gowon said helplessly. “I was just born like this!”

“We weren’t born.” Kim Lip corrected.

“Created! Whatever…” Gowon huffed.

“Can any of you on Eden see color?” Choerry piped in, a suspicious look on her face. She was ever the detective, as it was becoming increasingly clear that nothing slipped by her. 

“Not that I know of.” Gowon mumbled. “Olivia told us our colors, and that’s it.”

“Olivia told you your colors?” Choerry repeated. “Not Heejin?” 

“Heejin didn’t tell you your color either.” Jinsol scoffed. “We created you. But that… Doesn’t make sense.”

Jinsol shifted in her spot and leaned over to face Gowon, her eyes narrowed. She placed her chin on her fist. “You and Chuu’s colors are a bit out of this world, you know that? Chuu is peach, and you are light green. These two colors are practically impossible to create with the colors available to us. The only way those colors can be created is through the absence of color.”

“...What? There’s not a White or anything?” Gowon asked, looking equally as bewildered. “I’m certain we’re Heejin’s creations. Well… Well, I don’t know. Chuu can’t remember her, and neither can I. But we saw Vivi’s color, so we have to have been Heejin’s creations.”

“There is no white.” Jinsol grinned. “You two are really weird. Heejin used her own color to make Vivi and Yves without anyone else, so they both came out a little lighter, you know? So if we think about it that way, you and Peach can only be created if Yeojin and Haseul created you. But they didn’t. You all just met today.”

“Jinsol, you’re really giving the Odd Eye Circle a bad look!” Choerry suddenly stomped her foot, looking infuriated. “Isn’t it obvious? Heejin didn’t create them. They don’t remember Heejin, but they do remember meeting Olivia, remember Olivia saying what their colors are and remember _Olivia_ telling them that Heejin created them. The whole evil plan of hers was to kill Heejin and the rest of us, wasn't it? So obviously Olivia created them and told them Heejin created them and made them think she abandoned them all on Eden!” 

“Olivia created them?!” Yeojin gasped, eyes popping out of her sockets. The girls were rather shocked, all except for Kim Lip, who’d already connected the dots beforehand. 

“Then that solves it. They can’t see our colors because they’re Olivia’s creations.” Kim Lip said.

“Why would they not be able to see our colors though?” Haseul asked. Beside her, Yeojin was still shocked out of her skull. 

“Who knows?” Kim Lip shrugged.

“Must have to do with Olivia’s dark color. She’s some sort of evil, isn’t she?” Choerry mused, looking deep in thought. “If Heejin was obsessed with purity and light, she wouldn’t have made Olivia on her own accord.”

“So that means…?” Jinsol went on, tilting her face to the side.

“Olivia’s not Heejin’s. However she was created, Heejin didn’t want her to be created.” Kim Lip finished Jinsol’s sentence. “Gowon and Chuu must have no connection with the moon. I wonder why they could only see Vivi’s color?”

“Maybe because of how pure she was?” Jinsol suggested.

“Technically speaking, we’re not bright colors. Compared to Vivi, we’re a bit dark.” Choerry nodded along.

“This is so confusing.” Yeojin suddenly burst out. “I don’t care anymore! Unnies, where can I take a shower and go to bed? Also, does anyone have a phone? Or a laptop? Is there reception here?”

“I should shower too…” Choerry mumbled, glancing at her tattered clothes. “Kim Lip, are you sure you and Gowon will be alright?”

“We’ll be fine.” Kim Lip assured. “We’ll leave later into the night. We should get situated first.”

The house was built for three, but it wasn’t necessarily an uncomfortable fit for the eight girls. Haseul, Choerry and Yeojin all agreed to sleep on the same bed, and Gowon got a room for herself. Jinsol and Kim Lip remained with their room, and after the girls had showered and picked out their clothes, Kim Lip, Jinsol and Haseul took Olivia and Chuu into the basement.

“Will they be okay down here?” Gowon asked nervously, having followed them in case they mistreated the out-of-place colors. “It doesn’t get cold at night, does it?”

Olivia and Chuu were laid out in the hard mattresses laid out on the floor, stiff from never being used. Taking a closer look, Chuu and Olivia were in quite bad shape. That arrow that Yves had shot was still sticking out of Chuu’s breast, dug deep to the point that only the tail and a bit of the shaft could be seen. Olivia was a much worse sight. She too had a few arrows sticking out of her at odd angles, bruises and cuts were scattered all over her body. In fact, it seemed Olivia had been struck by some kind of… Lightning. Her arms were a purple color, and her veins struck out prominently, blue and black and yellow. Creeping up her neck, a burn mark was visible. Beyond this, Olivia’s skin was a sickly gray color, unnatural black, green and orange splotches stained onto her neck and lips. The skin beneath her eyes was completely black. She looked like something out of a novel. Chuu and Olivia both looked so pale and gray, that Gowon wondered if they were even alive.

“I cleaned up their wounds.” Haseul brought up, a sympathetic look on her face. “If that’s any comfort. I… Took out the arrows that were on Olivia’s back so she could rest well, but they’re pretty hard to take out, so I got squeamish and gave up before I could take out the rest.”

“...Thank you.” Gowon said slowly, and rubbed her hand on her chest as though to calm herself down. 

“We’ll lock the basement and check on them tomorrow.” Kim Lip said. “The door is firm. It’ll hold back any big attacks, but I doubt they’ll have the energy to do anything.”

“Please bring them food in the morning if we’re not back in time.” Gowon turned to Haseul, who looked surprised to be receiving the request. Haseul quickly nodded her head, looking resolved. “I will.”

“Thank you.” Gowon smiled weakly, and turned back to looking at Chuu and Olivia. 

They returned upstairs, and Jinsol bid them farewell right away. 

“I’m going to sleep in the field since the moons are so bright.” Jinsol sniffed. Then, she looked away from the sky and grinned at Kim Lip, Haseul and Gowon, giving them a thumbs up. “Time to recharge!”

Kim Lip laughed, and nudged Jinsol. They slapped their hands together and did some sort of a hand shake, bumping chests as a goodbye. It was a bit of a shock to Gowon and Haseul- Kim Lip hadn’t smiled the whole time they’d been together! “Be safe.” Jinsol told her.

“I went to Earth and fought Heejin on my own, remember?” Kim Lip grinned. “It’s a quick trip. Besides, we did Yves a favor. What harm could she do?”

Jinsol patted Kim Lip’s shoulder, saying nothing else as she walked off the porch and into the grass. “Bye!” Kim Lip called. Jinsol threw up her hand and waved lazily, no longer worried about Kim Lip’s safety.

They went upstairs, and went into Choerry’s room to greet her and Yeojin. The two of them were sprawled on the bed, laughing about something.

“Yeojin, come say goodbye.” Haseul said, beckoning Yeojin over. 

“Why say goodbye?” Choerry asked, sitting up. “They’ll come back.”

“You never know.” Haseul shrugged. “I thought Yeojin would want to say goodbye too.”

Yeojin sprung up from bed as the two spoke, and ran to Kim Lip’s side. They both hugged firmly, and Kim Lip stroked Yeojin’s head with affection.

“Be good.” Kim Lip chided. “Listen to your unnies.”

“I will.” Yeojin was already crying. “How long will you be gone?”

“Not long. But this is just in case something happens.” Kim Lip said, closing her eyes as she spoke to Yeojin. “We should be back by tomorrow with Yves and Vivi, so wait here.”

Once Kim Lip and Gowon had gone, Haseul forced them all to brush their teeth and go to sleep. But, despite the long and busy day, Yeojin wasn’t so tired. Haseul had already gone to sleep, so Yeojin turned to her friend.

“Choerry.” Yeojin whispered. “Are you awake?”

“Mn.” Choerry grunted after a while.

“Choerry, did you ever meet Vivi?” Yeojin asked.

“Meet Vivi?” Choerry repeated quietly. “No, I never met her. The first time I met her was the day I went to Eden, but I saw her before in pictures. She was really pretty.”

“There’s pictures?” Yeojin asked lightly.

“There’s only one.” Choerry reached over to her nightstand and fumbled for a moment. Then, she seemed to find what she was looking for and settled back in bed.

“How are we supposed to see it?!” Yeojin snapped. Then, Choerry’s Odd Eye flickered awake.

“Choerry!” Yeojin gasped. “Your Odd Eye just activated!”

“It activated last month when I left your house!” Choerry laughed.

“What?” Yeojin frowned. “Last month?! The time Gowon took to pick us up lasted a month?!”

“Shh!” Choerry hushed through a smile. “Just look at the picture and forget about time and space.”

Yeojin put her head on Choerry’s shoulder as the two inspected the picture beneath the glow of Choerry’s eye. 

“This is the only picture of Vivi I’ve ever seen.” Choerry explained softly. “I think this is the only one we have.”

The dress was blue, and it was thin enough to show the color of Vivi’s skin. Her hair was pink, and her glow was a pale color estranged from the middle earth. A reminiscent look grew in Choerry’s eyes.

“So this is her.” Yeojin murmured.

“I really wanted to meet Vivi.” Choerry remarked quietly. “For a while I felt like things would change if we met her. Jinsol and Kim Lip missed her, and she was the only Color I’d ever seen a picture of. It even felt like I knew her…”

“Are you okay?” Yeojin asked her gently, glancing up at her friend. She wasn’t surprised to see tears in Choerry’s eyes.

“We weren’t gone for a month.” Choerry sniffled. “We were gone for a really long time, Yeojin. Maybe three or four months, because Jinsol and I had to stay in Eden to recollect Vivi’s essence while Kim Lip went to Earth. She said she paid some guy to make Vivi from scratch- She brought her back, and she was more than just an empty vessel. She was a hollow shell. There wasn’t a single sign of life within her. Kim Lip said… She was some kind of robot.”

Yeojin’s eyes widened. _A robot?!_ This world was getting more ridiculous by the second!

“We reactivated her yesterday, and came back home.” Choerry said, voice shaking. “Why? Why did I have to meet her when she’d been torn to pieces? Now… I won’t ever get to know the Vivi in this photo.”

Choerry began to cry, and she hid her face in Yeojin’s shoulder. Yeojin hugged her friend, consoling her in silence to the best of her ability. She took the photo of Vivi from Choerry’s hand, and looked it over in the darkness. Yeojin set down that pretty photo in the midst of the bedsheets, and quietly prayed for it to go missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we got a .... RECAP CHAPTER!!!!!! It was supposed to be longer but it was already 15 pages so I cut it short;;  
> Anyways, I’m considering changing the title of the fic! I think the one Rn is pretty funny, but I also have a few other ones in mind! rn I’m thinking “In Orbit” or “The Universe Ends Tomorrow” (HAHAHA ANOTHER LENGTHY ONE!!!) If you guys have any recommendations I’d love to hear it ! also, the summary’s gonna change soon too HEHE so lots of changes coming up :)  
> these past two chapters have dragged on a bit, but I promise it’s because some crazy shit is about to happen and I want you guys to catch up before I make the fic even more confusing HAHAHQAgq  
> thx for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

Eden was perhaps the bleakest place Kim Lip had ever been to. She’d been stuck in Eden for a good amount of time already, but every time she’d been there felt like entering her grave. The sky was completely clouded and gray, and the scenery consisted of dark oak, dying trees and leaves so green they seemed black. Kim Lip could only imagine that Heejin was in some kind of emotional turmoil making Eden- the place was completely void of any color. And that… Was not a prominent feature in anything Heejin created. Kim Lip could suddenly understand this fearful obsession, Gowon had explained, that Yves had with Vivi- in a place where life seemed absent, Vivi must have been the most… alive thing the color-blinded girls had ever seen. 

Like some sort of bad dream, Kim Lip was back in Eden. And instead of being accompanied by a long-time companion, she was now accompanied by one of the worst kinds of creations in their universe; a creation of sin. But Kim Lip no longer thought anything of sin and light, and refused to acknowledge that a few cracked eggshells on the millions of eggshells that separated between holy and sin, love and evil, could make someone completely bad. A few measly mistakes and poorly executed actions could not be considered irredeemable evils that would shape the life of a Color, or… A person.

So, Kim Lip considered this new Color to be a stranger instead of an evil being. Still, strangers were suspicious, and Gowon fell under this category of suspicion. She had an expressionless face, but it was easy to tell what she was thinking. Kim Lip understood that Gowon wouldn’t make any rash decisions, much less do anything to betray Kim Lip.

“Does unnie look the same?” Gowon asked, referring to Vivi. It was the first time she’d spoken to Kim Lip since they’d left for Eden.

“The man who created her new vessel got her eyes right.” Kim Lip said as they crossed out of the forest and into the castle grounds. It was rough terrain from there on out- the remains of the battle consisted of massive ditches from explosions, debris and demolished trees that had been thrown around in Kim Lip’s self-made tornados, and enormous holes from the impact of the lightning showers Jinsol had brought down onto the sacred ground. It hadn’t been storming inside of the forest, but the closer they got to the castle, the more the rain picked up. The storm was left over from the battle, and there were open portals that Choerry never managed to close. The black matter that Olivia had festered seemed to be gone. “Everything else is a little bit off. Her face is a bit smaller, her shoulders are a bit bigger, her arms are a bit wider, her legs don’t have the same muscle mass they used to…”

“So she’s nothing alike?” Gowon asked.

To say her counterpart was nothing alike would be a lie. Everything that was off was only off by an inch or two, maybe even a few centimeters. But to people who knew and loved Vivi, the difference was big. “...You’ll see when we get there.”

The castle gates had been blown to pieces, and the doors were hanging loosely, so it was an easy entrance. Kim Lip turned to Gowon once they arrived inside. “Where would Yves be?”  
“Vivi’s room.” Gowon said without hesitation. She began to walk up the stairs, muttering to herself. “There’s no where else she’d be but there…”

Kim Lip’s first impression of Yves was that she was powerful. She shot arrows without hesitance, arched them perfectly and made sure every one of them was a deadly shot. She had a pretty face with an angry expression that seemed etched in, which Kim Lip could only see throughout flickers of light during their battle. Kim Lip was even impressed when she so fiercely demanded for Vivi to be remade, and collected her essence so diligently. This impression had not worn off completely- but it was always disheartening to see such a seemingly powerful person be reduced to nothing. Gowon opened the door and Yves was curled up beside Vivi on their bed, looking entirely too small. Kim Lip could see a countless amount of scratch marks on her arm, and her hair seemed thinner than when they’d last left her. Her state had only worsened in the short time Kim Lip had been away.

“Hello.”

Kim Lip looked up in shock. The Vivi vessel was talking- and it sounded like her! The man who’d created her swore to them that he could not make a “voice box” for her vessel. It was too difficult, and too intricate. But this Vivi was speaking completely coherently- like nothing had changed! Beyond this, Vivi had a life-like look to her. Kim Lip could understand this, since she and the Colors had officially revived her, but her vessel looked more human than it did before.

“Vivi?” Kim Lip asked softly.

“Unnie?” Gowon called, already in tears. She ran over to her, “Unnie, you’re okay! You- you look exactly the same! Unnie, how.. How do you feel?”

Vivi returned Gowon’s hug and even stroked her head, but was looking at her like she couldn’t recognize her. Kim Lip’s heart sank as she asked the question.

“Who are you?” Vivi asked, a quaint smile on her face. 

“...You don’t remember me?” Gowon’s smile dropped. She looked desperate as she continued, “Unnie… Vivi, it’s me. It’s Gowon! I-I…. You don’t remember?”

“We’ve never met before.” Vivi shook her head. “It’s nice to meet you, though. You’re very beautiful.”

Kim Lip lowered her eyes, not wanting to greet this new Vivi. Instead, she shook Yves’ shoulder. “Yves, are you asleep?”

Yves let out a shattering cry, and slapped Kim Lip’s hand away with an alarming force. “You fucker…” She heaved, sitting up. She whipped her head around to glower at Kim Lip, eyes sunken into her head. “You said she’d be the same! You said she’d be Vivi!”

“Yves, calm down.” Kim Lip stuttered, shocked.

“She doesn’t remember me!” Yves screamed, kicking the blankets. “She doesn’t remember, she doesn’t remember, she doesn’t remember! How could she not remember me?! I loved her so much, so much, I loved her so much, she loved me so much! She loved me much more than you, and than Jinsol, and than Gowon, and than Chuu, and than Olivia! She loved me the most!”

Yves kept screaming, and covered her ears as she kicked and writhed. Gowon had stumbled back in fear, tears streaming down her face. Kim Lip shook her head, and tried to get a handle of the situation- but even she froze. She caught a glimpse of Vivi’s face, and she who knew no emotion, sat back, watching Yves with a pleasant smile. In fact, her expression made it seem like this reaction was completely normal. Like Yves throwing these tantrums had happened before.

Then, Kim Lip realized that a blanket was covering Vivi from the waist down. Kim Lip walked over to her side of the bed, and pulled down the blankets. Kim Lip let out a low groan, and Gowon shrieked in terror. Vivi’s legs were half-way mutilated, with wires and springs spilling out and piling around her. Beyond this, Vivi seemed alright. Kim Lip lifted up her dress to see if she’d been wrecked anywhere else, but the remainder of her body was in mint condition. Actually, Yves seemed to be taking good care of her. Vivi’s pink hair was brushed and a small section of it was tied up on top, and she was wearing a pretty white dress. There were even recent food stains on the corner of her mouth, as though Yves tried to feed her. 

“Yves, what did you do?!” Gowon sobbed. 

“She loves me more than you! She loves me more than anyone!” Yves was still screaming nonsense. 

“Yves, stop it! Stop it and answer me!” Gowon shrieked, and she clambered over Vivi to straddle Yves. She grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, trying to get her to calm down. “Stop it! Stop screaming!”

“Get off of me! Get off! You can’t have her! You can’t take her from me!” Yves’ screams were blood-curdling, and the way she thrashed and grabbed at her hair made it seem like she was getting killed. 

“Vivi,” Kim Lip tried to talk to her in between the mess. She took her hand, and briefly noticed that there was jewelry on her fingers. Yves must’ve slipped them on. “Has Yves been kind to you?”  
“Kind to me?” Vivi echoed, tilting her head.

“Done kind things. Like… Give you food, hug you, smile at you, tell you nice things? Nice things are like… Words that make you happy. Like you look pretty, and I love you, and… Things like that. Has she been kind?”

Vivi squinted her eyes, thinking. Then, she nodded. “She’s been kind!”

“Has she been mean then?” Kim Lip asked instead. “Has she hit you? Like-Like this? Has she tried to tell you anything strange?”

“Yves told me I should only look at her.” Vivi recited fondly, recognizing the word “tell”. “And that I should only love her. Do… You know what love is? Yves had something wet come out when I asked her, so I didn’t ask her again. But I want to know so I can do what she asks of me.”

“Did she tell you anything else?” Kim Lip prompted.

“...She says she’ll kill Olivia.” Vivi said, eyes wide as she thought back to it. “What is kill?”

“I’ll tell you some other time.” Kim Lip stroked Vivi’s head. “I-,”

“Stop touching her!” Yves cut in. She threw Gowon off, sending her flying against the wall, and scrambled over to get in between Kim Lip and Vivi. She grabbed Kim Lip’s hair and yanked it, effectively throwing her away. “Don’t get near! Don’t get near! Get out! Get out, get out, get out!”

Kim Lip got to her feet, not wanting to cause anymore trouble with the unstable Yves, and went to help up Gowon. Once she managed to get the both of them on their feet, she noticed how Yves was acting. Her screaming had ceased. She put her cheek on Vivi’s chest, laying limply on top of her. Vivi pet her head and held her hand, running her thumb over her knuckles affectionately. Yves had taught her good things, at least. 

“How was your day?” Vivi asked, and Yves’ fearful face grew hollow as her lover spoke. Kim Lip felt a pain in her heart when she understood that Vivi must be reciting what Yves would ask her. “Did you think about me?”

Gowon shoved Kim Lip away, and ran out of the room, slamming her shoulder against the doorway as she did. Kim Lip sighed, and decided to speak again. She leaned her shoulder against the wall.

“Yves, I came to bring you to the middle earth. If you come with Vivi, all ten of us can be reunited and figure out what to do next.” Kim Lip said, and felt even more disheartened seeing Yves’ expressionless face. She wondered if she was even hearing her. “We can teach Vivi about our world from scratch. You and her… can learn to love each other again that way.”

“Unnie…” Yves croaked. “Unnie won’t love me again if she learns about the world from scratch. Back then, I was myself. Vivi loved me for me back then. But now… I’m nothing, Kim Lip. I’m not even a husk of who I was. I can’t… even remember anything else. I don’t know who I used to be.”

“Yves…” Kim Lip trailed off. She shook her head. “You should eat something.”

“I haven’t showered in so long.” Yves laughed. “I haven’t eaten since Vivi died. What makes you think I’ll eat now?”

“I’m not dead!” Vivi laughed, and rubbed Yves’ head. “I’m right here!”

“...Get out of my room.” Yves muttered, glancing at Kim Lip.

“Will you come with us?” Kim Lip asked.

“If Vivi wants to.” Yves said.

“....You know that won’t work.” Kim Lip mumbled.

“I said, if Vivi wants to.” Yves snapped. “If she says fucking yes, then we’ll go, if she says no, then we wont, if she says she doesn’t know, we’ll wait around like fucking idiots until she decides. Do you understand?”

“You’re a piece of shit, Yves.” Kim Lip scratched her neck, pushing herself off the wall she was leaning against. “I don’t know who you were before this either, but I hope you can find yourself soon. Relying on someone who has no memories of you… It’ll destroy you all over again.”

“Get the hell out!” Yves shouted, and leaned over to grab the night lamp. She threw it at Kim Lip, and she ducked before it could hit her- the lamp smashed to pieces against the wall behind her.

Kim Lip clicked her tongue in disbelief, and as retaliation, she picked up the lamp and threw it back at Yves’ face as she walked out.

“You could’ve hit Vivi, you fucking bitch!” Yves yelled, but Kim Lip had already slammed the door shut.

When Gowon opened her eyes, she was met with a white ceiling. No, it wasn’t a ceiling. What was above her was the sky, clouded so thickly that it seemed like a white sheet of paper. She sat up, and realized that she felt nothing- no pressure, no texture. There was a distant sensation of fabric on her fingertips, similar to the bed she’d lain on before waking up in such a mysterious world. All around her, the texturless world had a foggy impression. Everything seemed clouded, and there was a gentle color of lavender illuminating the strange place. No moon or sun was present, but Gowon always felt that it was dusk.

“I have a feeling you know this place.”

Gowon jumped- when she turned to her side, Choerry was lying down across from her. She wore the same outfit she had on when they first met. A short white top and purple shorts stopped above her thigh. 

“You’re here too?!” Gowon asked, wide eyed.

“I’ve never had a dream before.” Choerry smiled, sitting up. “Have you?”

“...No.” Gowon confessed. She’d read plenty about dreams in the mounds of books she’d read, from descriptions in story books to thick dream journals, and always felt confused about the vagueness that entailed. “Humans have brains. Colors don’t.”

“I’ve heard about a brain.” Choerry tilted her head. “Brains are pretty sad. I wonder… Why we can’t dream, then? Our vessels like to eat and sleep. It makes them look healthy. We should at least dream once in a while.”

“I bet Yeojin and Haseul have dreamt.” Gowon said. “People have all sorts of dreams. They can be sad, or happy, or confusing… They can be anything.”

“You’ve been here before, haven’t you?” Choerry asked, putting her cheek on her knee. “That’s why you aren’t shocked.”

Gowon blushed. Choerry really could see right through anyone. “I guess I could tell you since you won’t remember. This is what happens when I turn back time.”

“Turn back time?” Choerry scoffed, but she didn’t look surprised. “...I noticed something like that was happening. A while ago we tried to open a portal to get to Eden, but the moon wasn’t right. All week, it seemed like the moon was heading in the right direction, but suddenly… It was a crescent moon. You’ve turned back time a lot before then, haven’t you?”

“I haven’t been able to do it until recently.” Gowon said softly, looking out at the vast emptiness of this familiar world. “When I first found out, I kept turning back time accidentally. When I first found out… Was the day after Olivia kissed me. She told me that she loved me, and that I should be with her, and I don’t know why it made me so sad. I- I feel the same way about her, so it didn’t make sense why I wanted things to change. Maybe… Nevermind. A lot of things happened that day, but when I went to sleep I kept wishing things would change. And I woke up here. It just kept repeating… Until one day I figured out that I was turning back time, reliving the same day over and over again because I wanted things to be different. I landed on a day with an okay ending. She gave me a dead butterfly that day instead of something heart-breaking like a kiss. I tried to turn back time when I found out Vivi unnie was dead, but I… I guess I didn’t wish for things to be different as hard as I did when Olivia kissed me.”

“Were you glad she died?” Choerry asked suddenly.

“What?” The question drove nails into Gowon’s heart. It was out of nowhere- Choerry had nothing to back up this question with. But for some reason, tears were slipping out of Gowon’s eyes. “No. No, I wasn’t glad.”

Choerry’s gaze was unchanging as she stared at Gowon.

“...So what if I was?” Gowon cried feebly. “I like Vivi unnie. I love Vivi unnie, and I’d run away with her over and over again, but- But why did she have to come to Eden?! Why did she have to make me see such evil sides of Olivia?”

“So you blame her?” Choerry too looked off into the hazy distance.

“Of course I don’t blame her! It’s not her fault!” Gowon sobbed.

“But you let her take the fall for the fault of others?” Choerry asked. “Olivia would have shown her true colors whether or not Vivi went to Eden.”

“Don’t you think I know that?!” Gowon wailed, wiping her tears.

“I don’t blame you.” Choerry told her gently, and Gowon looked up in shock. “It’s not your fault any of this happened.”

“But I could’ve saved Vivi!” Gowon protested.

“Vivi isn’t dead.” Choerry shook her head. “Maybe she’s lost herself entirely, but she’s not dead. They managed to scrape her soul together again. In the end… She’ll be Vivi again.”

“But she won’t be the same.” Gowon huffed, and wiped her tears again.

“No. She’ll never be the same.” Choerry shrugged. “But neither will we if you wipe our memories. How far back are you planning on wiping them?”

“I didn’t want to wipe your memories.” Gowon sighed, still shaking from crying. “I don’t mean to turn back time. When I wish for it hard enough, it happens…”

“What was your wish then?”

“...To turn back to when Olivia was still alive.” Gowon mumbled. “So that Vivi never came to Eden.”

“How can you turn back time with Vivi in this state?” Choerry went on. “She’s not who she used to be. Her vessel has no time on her.”

“I don’t know.” Gowon put her head in her knees. “I don’t know how it’ll work. But there’s no way to stop it now. I don’t know how.”

Silence passed. Choerry seemed out of things to say. “...What about Haseul and Yeojin? How far back will you reverse them?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t…” Gowon sniffled. “Choerry, how are you here?”

“Here?” Choerry echoed thoughtfully. “I think I can shift dimensions.”

“What?”

“I can phase through different planes of existence.” Choerry said. “Earth, the cosmos and the Middle Earth, they all exist in the same realm. But Yeojin and Haseul’s house was on a different plane of existence, and Eden doesn’t exist in our universe either. So does this. That’s the only reason why I’m here. Maybe I ate cherries again before bed…”

“Eden doesn’t exist on the same plane of…?” Gowon trailed off.

“I’ve determined that it doesn’t.” Choerry nodded. “Everything is totally different from our universe. Eden… Is just a flat plane of existence. There’s nothing else but Eden. Heejin must’ve created it for Vivi only.”

“Heejin has that kind of power?” Gowon asked, impressed.

“Heejin creates.” Choerry shrugged. “But if I’m being honest, I don’t think her creations are more than illusions.”

“What?” Gowon frowned.

“Never mind.” She shrugged instead. She turned to look at Gowon- she was smiling, but it seemed she didn’t mean to put any happiness in it. “So I guess this is goodbye?”

“Choerry,” Gowon began. “Can you do me a favor?”

Silence passed.

“Can you open a portal to a different dimension and…”

“Put Vivi there?” Choerry seemed amused. “Why should I do you that?”

“I don’t want Olivia to… go on a darker path this time. I want her to choose what’s right.” Gowon said softly. “Without Vivi, maybe things could be different.”

“And the rest of us… Should just forget her?” Choerry asked. Then, she started to laugh, laying back down on the clouds. “Why would I ever say yes to this?”

“Vivi would be safe if she were away from this universe.” Gowon said. “Yves will remember Vivi if she stays here, and she’ll end up killing Olivia for what she did. She’ll… Keep obsessing over Vivi like she always has. Yves is… Not a good person.”

“And if I toss Vivi away, she’ll magically become a better person?” Choerry sighed. “It’s a ridiculous request. You’re asking me not only to throw away all my memories of Vivi, and Vivi herself, but you’re asking this while wiping my memory of my friends. Of… Of…”

Choerry’s eyebrows suddenly twitched. A confused look appeared on her face, “Who are my friends?”

“Choerry, I think… If you did this favor for me, things could be better.” Gowon said, a numbing feeling overtaking her. “Vivi could be safe. And when the time comes, she can return to this universe.”

“When will that time be?”

“...When that balance you guys keep talking about is restored.”

Choerry sat up. She looked around, then scratched her head. “If I somehow remember you, know it won’t be a happy reunion.”

“So you’ll do it?” Gowon sat up too.

“You’ve convinced me.” Choerry said with a sigh, and stood up. She stretched her arms until they popped, and she looked at Gowon over her shoulder. “When we meet again, I hope you’ll be ready to fight me.”

“You won’t remember me.” Gowon promised, heart thumping at Choerry’s declaration.

Choerry grinned. “You never know. Maybe it’ll all come back to me if I see your face again. So… you’d better hide from me.”

Gowon didn’t know why, but she ended up smiling too. She smiled so hard to the point she let out brief giggles, feeling giddy. Choerry’s grin was dark, sinister almost, like the threat of a battle was a promise to end Gowon’s life- it wasn’t anything that was joy-inducing. But Gowon truly felt happy- things would finally change for the better! On the other hand, Choerry’s grin fell into a furious face. She turned away abruptly, and tore the sky open with her hands. Without another word, she left.

There was a sharp, impossibly painful pressure on the side of Choerry’s head. It was unbearable to the point that it woke Choerry up- she cradled her head, scrunching her face as she sat up. “Agh…” She groaned, rubbing and hitting the pain in an attempt to stop it. She managed to open her eyes, and looked around. She was in her room. The early light of dawn filtered through her curtains, and Choerry looked around her bed. Suddenly, the pain was gone- but she felt as though something was missing. Unsure of what, Choerry got up and went to Kim Lip’s room- as expected, Jinsol was in bed with her, sleeping peacefully. Kim Lip was sat up, rubbing her temple.

“Kim Lip,” Choerry called softly. 

Kim Lip looked up. “Choerry! I woke up with a huge headache…”

“Kim Lip, was there anyone here last night?” Choerry asked, leaning against the door frame.

“Anyone here….” Kim Lip echoed, and she looked just as unsure as Choerry. Then, like she thought even pondering the question was ridiculous, she laughed and bumped her palm against her head. “Of course there wasn’t, Choerry. We’re the only people in the world, remember?”

“Shit! That hurts!” Yeojin groaned, sitting up. She slapped the top of her head like it was a coconut, groaning and grunting in pain. “What the hell…”

Yeojin lifted up her hands, inspecting them- and realizing they were covered in dirt! Where the hell was she?! The last she remembered, she was at the orphanage… Yeojin looked around, and grew startled. She was in the middle of a forest! Yeojin shot up, and stumbled around, trying to make sense of her surroundings. Not only was she in the middle of a forest, but she was passed out on the ground in front of a nice-looking cabin! Had she been adopted in the middle of the night? No… More like… Had she been abducted in the middle of the night?! Immediately, Yeojin started screaming for help.

“Yeojin!”

“Oh thank god!” Yeojin threw up her hands. It must’ve been someone from the orphanage! “Do you- AHHHHHHH!”

Yeojin screamed and fell back onto the floor. That wasn’t anyone from the orphanage- actually, it wasn’t even a somebody! Standing at the doorway, a frog with a human’s body was staring at Yeojin with the blank expression you’d expect on a frog. No, that doesn’t matter- There was a frog with a human’s body that somehow knew Yeojin’s name!

“Yeojin, are you alright? Oh, you scraped your knee!” The frog ran down to help her up. “Here, I’ll kiss it better.”

“AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!”

Nineteen year old Jo Haseul who never fit in with the rest of humanity awoke suddenly in the night, grabbing her head and digging her fingers into her scalp. She fought back the urge to scream in pain, and instead, called for her mom.

“Mom! Mom!” She cried, but for a split second, something felt weird. Mom? Haseul… thought she was far away from her mom. The pain in her head subdued, and she blinked in shock, looking around. She was… In her room?

“Haseul!” Her mom burst open the door and hurried to her daughter’s side. “Haseul, what’s wrong?! Why are you screaming?!”

“Mom…” Haseul trailed off, staring at the wall. Her hands slipped from her hair, falling onto her lap. “Mom, do you know what language people in Iceland speak?”

“Can you hear me? Vivi?”

Vivi jerked awake, trembling. She was completely afraid- something was hurting inside of her, but she didn’t know a single word to describe it. Even as she regained consciousness, Vivi could not make sense of where she was, or what had happened before she’d… suddenly awoken.

“Vivi!” There was a strange man in front of her. What language was he speaking? Was… Was she this “Vivi” he kept calling for? The man babbled on in this foreign language, and Vivi replied in the only tongue she knew.

“Who are you? Where am I? Where is this? Who… Who am I?” 

“Vivi!” The man repeated, beaming despite the tears springing into his eyes. “Vivi!”

“There are strict rules in this academy, and I know you are all well aware of it! Dirtying your socks in such a disgraceful manner… How dare you! How dare all of you for encouraging this behavior!”

The girls hung their heads, feeling as though they’d received the scolding of a life time. In reality, this scolding happened at least once a day. Well, at least once a day since they’d been brought into this world. Their instructor explained that they existed merely by coincidence, and that they had to learn and absorb all the knowledge they could in order to find their purpose. Since the moment of their birth, the girls were forced to learn.

Things seemed to be going so well. So long as they stayed silent, the instructor would grow tired of lecturing and let the girls run off! But, of course, Yves had to ruin things. She hung her head even further, and out of the corner of Olivia’s eye, she could see Yves struggling to hold back a smile.

“Yves!” The instructor hit her ruler on her desk. “Are you _laughing_ while your instructor speaks?”

“No!” Yves stood straight, but a smile broke out on her face again. “No ma’am!”

“Bend over!” The instructor shouted, stamping her foot. “You only understand the order of this life if I beat you- So if I must beat you for you to learn, then I will!” 

Even as the instructor slapped the ruler against Yves’ back, whipping it until Yves’ back was surely red and swollen, Yves laughed. She laughed and stomped her feet like such a beating was merely ticklish to her- and Olivia had the suspicion that the latter was true. Yves didn’t feel much pain, or much of anything to be honest. 

The instructor finished the beating with a kick to Yves’ ribs, and Yves finally stopped laughing to cough out blood. By that point, the girls were practically with their fingertips touching the floor with how low they’d hung their heads.

“I want sixty pages of mathematics done by the next hour!” The instructor shouted. “I thought maybe Yves would learn if she saw her actions have enormous consequences that involve her friends, but clearly, she has no empathy for the rest of you. Go, and don’t dare to leave the library until the mathematics are done! In fact, go straight to bed once you’ve finished!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s about to get real Sherlock Holmes in this shit


End file.
